According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal will make David Raya their “first signing of the summer” when he permanently joins from Brentford.
On the last day of the season, Manchester City defeated West Ham 3-1 to win the Premier League title, and the Gunners were not the winners this time around.
With Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team improving every year, the Spaniard’s team is getting closer and closer to earning their first Premier League title since 2003.
Although the latter missed the majority of the season due to injury, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and Jurrien Timber brought depth of talent last summer. Raya, on loan from Brentford, gave Aaron Ramsdale some competition in goal.
Raya signed for an initial £3 million, and Romano says the deal could be finalised in the “next few days” with Arsenal now expected to use its £27 million buyout option.
“In the coming days, Arsenal will proceed with their first signing of the summer with the permanent transfer of David Raya,” Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column.
The custodian came to Arsenal on loan from Brentford last summer, with the option to buy, but Raya’s transfer to Arsenal would become permanent in the summer of 2024 according to an agreement between the two teams. Arsenal will honour that agreement by exercising their £27 million buy option.
Arsenal is now prepared to turn Raya’s loan into a permanent agreement since Mikel Arteta is overjoyed and wants him to stay. Additionally, as was already reported, Aaron Ramsdale is anticipated to leave the team this summer; therefore, they need to find a replacement for him because Raya is now without a doubt Arteta’s top choice.
“After Emile Smith Rowe was linked to Fulham—I told you here that he’s been discussed internally—there are now rumours that Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal is another striker Fulham is targeting for this summer.”
According to what I currently know, Fulham is thinking about adding a number of players this summer, including a new centre back, a talented midfielder like Smith-Rowe, and possibly a new striker because Armando Broja is departing after his Chelsea loan. Although Nketiah isn’t very sophisticated yet, Fulham is investigating the market.
The stories about Jakub Kiwior and Milan have also returned. Although the Polish defender was on AC Milan’s list in January, the club has always valued him; as of right now, Milan has not contacted Arsenal. Their objectives differ, and they want to add a new striker and right-back. We will see the center-back in the window later. Kiwior could be sold by Arsenal this summer, but only in exchange for a significant offer.
