Brentford confirm star is for sale, as Man Utd target £40million transfer to see back of stalwart

David Raya, Brentford, May 2023

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has confirmed David Raya is the one Bees player for sale this summer, and he “costs £40million,” with Manchester United lurking.

Raya ended the Premier League season with the fifth-most clean sheets of any goalkeeper. His 12 clean sheets were more than the likes of Ederson and Emiliano Martinez managed this season.

He’s in good company, then, with those men seen as two of the best goalkeepers in the league.

Raya’s future has seemed to be away from Brentford for a while. The Spaniard confirmed in February that he had rejected two offers to remain with his current side.

That followed an admission from Bees boss Frank that keeping hold of the star would be “difficult”.

That was before a tremendous end to the season which saw Raya keep a clean sheet against Champions Manchester City, on the way to a Brentford double over the serial winners.

The goalkeeper has been linked with some big sides throughout this season.

Manchester United and Tottenham – both sides who seem likely to undergo a changing of the guard in net this summer – have been heavily linked.

Frank confirms Raya is for sale for £40million

Now, Brentford boss Frank has confirmed the club will sell their prized asset for the right price.

“I think we only have one player for sale. That’s the one that’s been talked a lot: David. He costs £40million, I think I said,” he said, quoted by the Evening Standard.

The manager also detailed the difficulty of keeping star players at the club.

“We are a selling club — I don’t think that’s a secret. But they need to be crazy high amounts for the players if we want to have anyone to leave. I’m pretty sure that everyone, including myself, is very happy here at Brentford,” Frank added.

Having finished ninth and had a lot of players positively contribute, Brentford have done well to only have sides massively keen on one of their players.

Big sides will have no issues with £40million

While £40million is a big number for the Bees by Frank’s admission, it’s not for the league’s big hitters.

Man Utd would likely have no problems with that outlay. Indeed, they spent north of £200million last summer, and after a great season, they should be happy to spend again.

While Tottenham are less well known for spending huge sums, they’ve spent more than Raya’s asking price on six occasions.

What’s more, they’ve done so three times in the last year. As such, should they really want to replace Hugo Lloris, they’ll pay the fee.

It remains to be seen where Raya does end up, but judging from this season, and his form in the buildup to it, he’ll have an impact whoever he plays for.

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