Arsenal are set to sign Brentford star David Raya on an initial loan deal rather than a permanent deal, it has been claimed, with the Gunners having an option to buy the player next season.
It had been claimed that a move for Raya, who is set to become Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer, would be a permanent deal worth around £30m, which would have taken Arsenal’s transfer spending well over £200m following the arrivals of Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber alongside a British record transfer for Declan Rice.
However, this has since been debunked, and it appears that instead Raya will arrive on a temporary basis rather than permanently, at least to begin with.
The deal will consist of a £3m fee to take Raya on loan, the Athletic report, in a deal which also includes an option to buy the Spaniard for a fee of £27m next summer should he prove successful. As part of the deal, the shot-stopper has extended his contract with the Bees in order to preserve his value should the Gunners not activate the option to buy him at the end of the spell, though it is expected that they will.
Raya is expected to undergo his medical on Thursday, after having said goodbye to his Brentford teammates on Wednesday. He will need to be registered by midday on Friday to play any part in Arsenal’s opening game of the season, when they take on Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.
They will come up against the man that Raya will replace, with Matt Turner having completed a switch from the Gunners to Forest on Wednesday afternoon.
