Why are Tottenham interested in Brentford’s David Raya? That’s simple – even if a deal might not be…

David Raya, Tottenham, Brentford
By Jay Harris and Jack Pitt-Brooke
Jun 13, 2023

There are a lot of issues Ange Postecoglou needs to address at Tottenham Hotspur this summer and finding a long-term successor for Hugo Lloris will be near the top of the list.

The Frenchman has made nearly 450 appearances for Spurs since he joined from Lyon in August 2012 and is widely thought to be their greatest goalkeeper since Pat Jennings. But his performances over the past few seasons have been littered with mistakes. The 36-year-old’s contract expires next summer, but in an interview earlier this month with French newspaper Nice-Martin, he said “we are coming to the end of an important moment, whether for the club or me. It’s the end of an era. I have desires for other things, I will ask myself quietly to study what will be possible”.

Advertisement

Tottenham have set their sights on Brentford’s No 1 David Raya as Lloris’ replacement. They are looking at other options, including AC Milan’s Mike Maignan, although he would cost far more than Raya.

Raya started all of Brentford’s matches this season and, according to Opta, made more saves (154) than any other goalkeeper in the top flight, recorded the second-highest number of catches (51) after Emiliano Martinez and kept 12 clean sheets.

Elsewhere on The Athletic…

Spurs have held discussions with Raya’s camp over a potential move. Although he feels ready to make the step up to a bigger club, the situation is far from simple.

Raya joined Brentford from Blackburn Rovers for £3million in July 2019 and he signed an extension in October 2020. His deal expires in 12 months and he has rejected two new contract offers from Brentford that would have made him one of the highest-paid players in their history. In an interview with The Athletic in February, he said “that they weren’t the offers we were looking for” and “I want to play in Europe and fight for a title”.

Thomas Frank has publicly spoken about Raya’s chances of leaving and given him a valuation of “at least £40million”. Despite only having a year left on his contract, Brentford are adamant they will not sell Raya for anything less.

After Brentford lost the 2020 Championship play-off final to Fulham, they sold Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa for £28million, while Said Benrahma moved to West Ham United in a £25million deal. Raya has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the past two seasons and you can understand why Brentford are demanding a figure that would eclipse their previous record sales.

Tottenham are unlikely to meet Brentford’s asking price for Raya this early in the transfer window. Traditionally, they have done their business later in the window, although last summer they made an exception, spending an initial £50m on Richarlison in late June and moving fast to sign Ivan Perisic on an expensive two-year deal agreed in late May.

Advertisement

Tottenham may not be able to wait all summer, however, because they face competition from elsewhere in the Premier League and abroad. Spurs have not made any official approach to Brentford yet but three other clubs have been in verbal contact with them about the possibility of signing Raya.

Brentford are relaxed about the situation, as they signed Mark Flekken from Freiburg at the beginning of June. Flekken will compete with Thomas Strakosha next season to be first choice under Frank.

Ever since Matthew Benham became Brentford’s majority owner in 2012, developing and then selling players has been a key part of their business model. However, they are not desperate to shift Raya. They would be prepared to let him leave for free next summer instead of accepting a cut-price fee.

If Spurs find the cash to sign Raya, he will instantly elevate their ability to play out from the back. Finding a new goalkeeper who can pass the ball will be extremely important as they try to transition to a more possession-based style under Postecoglou. Raya grew up on the outskirts of Barcelona and he would spend hours as a child playing futsal with his older brother, Oscar, on a concrete pitch next to their house. This is part of the reason he is so comfortable passing with both feet under pressure from opposition strikers.

Brentford have used Raya’s accurate long-distance passes as an offensive weapon, too. From goal kicks he will target Ivan Toney, who will then flick the ball on for Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa or Kevin Schade to chase in behind the opponent’s centre-backs. It would be easy for Spurs to replicate this tactic under Postecoglou with Kane, Richarlison, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski.

The best examples of Raya’s exceptional passing range are both from matches against Manchester City. When Brentford beat the champions 2-1 at the Etihad in November, Raya’s pinpoint free kick locates Ben Mee, who sets up Toney for the opening goal.

In their 1-0 victory over Pep Guardiola’s side last month, Raya’s quickly taken free kick catches Sergio Gomez off-guard and releases Schade in space. He then whips a cross into the box, which is eventually tucked away by Ethan Pinnock.

During breaks in games, Raya will often walk over to the dugout to talk to Manu Sotelo, Brentford’s goalkeeping coach, and Frank for tactical advice. He will then feed this to the rest of his team-mates and it allows him to spot opportunities, like against City.

Raya’s passing grabs everybody’s attention and it means his shot-stopping goes under the radar. We know Raya makes a lot of saves but by using the goals prevented metric, which compares how many goals a goalkeeper actually conceded versus the number they were expected to based on the quality of the shot, we can get a better idea of how truly effective he is. Raya stopped nearly six more goals than he was expected to, which comfortably puts him in the top bracket in the division.

The obvious area of his game that needs to be improved is dealing with shots from long distance. Brentford conceded 10 goals from outside the box this season, which was the third-worst record in the league after Nottingham Forest (15) and Leicester City (18).

Yet the positives are clear and, if Postecoglou wants to build his team from the back, there is little surprise Raya’s name is in the frame.

(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.