Arsenal transfers: USMNT's Matt Turner could be forced to exit door as Gunners work on David Raya move

Jul 09, 2023

Arsenal are working on a deal to sign Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, a move that could force U.S. men's national team starter Matt Turner to depart the Emirates Stadium after just a year.

Raya is currently assessing his options with a departure from Brentford viewed as a near certainty as he heads into the final year of his contract with Bayern Munich also understood to be admirers of the Spaniard. The Bundesliga champions submitted a loan offer earlier this week that would have necessitated Brentford extending his contract by a further 12 months. This was rejected by the Bees.

CBS Sports sources have indicated that Raya is currently favoring a move to Arsenal over the interest in Germany though both sides would have to agree terms with Brentford for there to be a decision to make. Their head coach, Thomas Frank, acknowledged earlier this week that the goalkeeper would likely depart this summer though made clear that any deal would have to make financial sense for the Bees.

"I think it's natural that he would like to leave if it's a good opportunity for him," said Frank. "We all think it's a good idea at the right price."

Raya, who would fulfill the Premier League and UEFA's homegrown criteria, has been on Arsenal's radar since he was at Blackburn Rovers, who he left in 2019 to join his current club, where he worked with current Gunners' goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana. In the summer of 2020, Brentford rejected multiple offers in the region of £10 million from the Gunners for their goalkeeper. Were they to be successful three years later, Mikel Arteta would find himself with two of the Premier League's outstanding sweeper keepers in his squad, handing Aaron Ramsdale the same competition for a starting spot that so many of his outfield teammates face.

Such rivalry was perhaps not apparent last season, where Turner made seven appearances following his arrival from New England Revolution. He did not feature in a single minute of Premier League football and was notably left out of the XI for the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 tie against Sporting. It had been an open question around Arsenal this summer as to whether the 29-year-old would feature in many games beyond domestic cup competitions in the coming season given that Arteta's side will be competing in the Champions League.

Though Turner has proven himself to be an impressive shot-stopper, he himself has acknowledged that he has work to do with the ball at his feet, a crucial quality that both Ramsdale and Raya possess in abundance. For his part, Turner acknowledged last month that he had hoped to play more frequently when making the move from MLS to the Premier League.

"This season was amazing at Arsenal," he said. "I learned so much and we won games, but I would have liked to play a little bit more. On the personal side, I didn't hit as many goals as I would have really liked to."

Turner is of interest to Nottingham Forest.