Tottenham, Man Utd, Chelsea on alert as manager confirms regular starter is officially ‘for sale’
Brentford manager Thomas Frank has confirmed that the Premier League club have put goalkeeper David Raya up for sale in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Raya has been ever-present in Brentford’s 37 league matches so far this season, including Saturday’s impressive 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. However, the goalkeeper is approaching the final year of his contract in west London.
With no sign of a contract renewal, the sensible decision would be for Brentford to cash in while they can. And Frank has now confirmed that is exactly what they intend to do.
Following the win over Tottenham, Frank told Match of the Day: “We want to keep the group together, we want to build. The only one for sale is David Raya – the rest are not for sale.”
Brentford are guaranteed to finish in the top half this season and even have an outside chance of sneaking into the European places.
But Raya seems to have other ambitions, which could lead him to a more traditionally big club. In recent weeks, he has been linked with Tottenham themselves, as well as Man Utd and Chelsea.
Tottenham are ready to find a successor to Hugo Lloris, who might even leave one year ahead of the expiry of his own contract. Even if he stays, the club captain has been under pressure and is extremely unlikely to remain a regular starter.
Man Utd, meanwhile, are ready to prolong David De Gea’s stay at Old Trafford. However, they are facing similar questions about the future of their goalkeeping department.
And as for Chelsea, neither Kepa Arrizabalaga nor Edouard Mendy have been able to nail down the starting spot in goal this season. Although they will be without European football next season, they might be ready to invest in a new number one and could lure Raya across London.
Frank addresses Toney future at Brentford
While the Spaniard seems set to leave Brentford – reportedly for a transfer fee of £40m if the club get their way – Frank has given a different kind of update on banned striker Ivan Toney.
Brentford will be unable to use Toney until January at the earliest, though there have been claims they could offer him a contract extension in that time.
Previously, the centre-forward was also attracting interest from some bigger clubs, including Man Utd and Arsenal.
Frank said, though: “Ivan is a top player, he’s been our talisman for the last three seasons. With the goals he has scored, how can you replace him? It’s impossible.
“But hopefully we can create something which is as good or close to being. The way the front three played today is promising.”
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