Arsenal are expected to offer just £15m for Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, according to the Daily Mail.

The 27-year-old does have less than a year left on his contract and the Gunners seem to be chancing their arm by seeing whether Raya’s club will accept a low bid for the keeper before he can leave for nothing next year.

Bees boss Thomas Frank has already stated that Raya is worth up to £40m, despite the limited time left on the Spaniard’s current deal. He even compared the keeper’s situation to that of Declan Rice and Harry Kane:

“I would love to get £40m. That’s what he’s worth. I think he’s one of the best keepers, he was one of the four best keepers in the Premier League last season, so what is the price? What was Declan Rice, one year left? £105m? Is that a fair price? And [Harry] Kane, you’re talking one year left and he will cost what, £150m? The keeper is at his best age, I think. But anyway, it’s a good thing I am not negotiating. That is for Phil [Giles] and Matthew [Benham] and Arsenal and the others, so they must take care of that. I just take care of the coaching.”

It should be pointed out that while, technically, Rice was in the final year of his contract when Arsenal signed him from West Ham, the Irons had an option to extend his contract for a further year.

We shall see if Brentford’s stance on Raya is just bluster

The Mail claim that the Bees may actually accept a bid of around £30m so the club’s tough stance on his asking price does seem to be weakening somewhat already.

A lot depends on whether Brentford are prepared to let Raya leave on a free transfer if they don’t get a fee that matches their valuation. The fact they have already signed a replacement in Mark Flekken for £11m suggests they are not.