Tottenham desperate to beat Man Utd to David Raya transfer but not willing to meet Brentford’s £40m valuation
BRENTFORD are demanding £40million for keeper David Raya but Spurs only want to pay £20m for the Spanish international.
Raya, 27, is ready to make the move across London after emerging as Spurs’ first choice to replace veteran captain Hugo Lloris this summer.
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He has twice rejected the offer of a new Brentford contract and only has 12 months remaining on his current deal.
And his representatives have threatened to allow Raya to run down his contract and walk away as a free agent next year if Brentford don’t agree to sell him during this transfer window.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank is resigned to losing Raya, who cost the club just £3m when they signed him from Blackburn in 2019.
He has already secured his potential replacement after agreeing an £11m deal for Dutch international Mark Flekken from Freiburg.
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But Frank insists he has no intention of allowing Raya to leave on the cheap and is ready to call Tottenham’s bluff if they refuse to increase their offer.
Lloris has confirmed his intention to leave Spurs after 11 years at the club and said: “It’s the end of an era. I have desires for other things.”
The 36-year-old French World Cup captain missed the season’s run-in after suffering a thigh injury during the 6-1 humiliation at Newcastle in April and is still working his way back to fitness.
He admitted: “I don’t forget that I still have a year of my contract with football and that it is always difficult to predict what will happen in football.”
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But Spurs are happy for Lloris to leave as they look to rebuild after missing out on European qualification and see Raya as a key player in that process.
He won his first senior Spanish caps last season and was an unused member of their World Cup squad after impressing national team boss Luis Enrique.
But Spurs are not his only admirers, with Manchester United also monitoring developments as they assess whether to persist with David de Gea.
And Brentford are hoping to use that interest to push Raya’s transfer fee closer to their £40m valuation.