Arsenal have made an offer for a new goalkeeper, with David Raya's position between the sticks under fresh focus.
Ranked at no.4 in FourFourTwo's list of the best goalkeepers in the world right now, Raya was a controversial signing for the Gunners to some. The Spanish stopper was brought in on an initial loan deal to replace Aaron Ramsdale, who had been a vital part of manager Mikel Arteta's team since joining in 2021.
Raya has gone from strength to strength since joining from Brentford – but with Arteta revolutionising the goalkeeping department in recent times, he's set to receive more competition for his position.
Arsenal have made a big offer for young goalkeeper
Arsenal have had plenty of flux in goal, since Arteta joined in 2019. Bernd Leno was his undisputed no.1 but an injury to the German gave Emi Martinez his breakthrough opportunity – but Martinez left for first-team football at Aston Villa in 2020, with Leno's poor form preceding the signing of Ramsdale a year later.
Backup goalkeepers have been a consistent issue under Arteta's watch, too, with the disastrous signing of Alex Runarsson leading to the short-term acquisition of Mat Ryan as an upgrade. Matt Turner underwhelmed, too, while Neto was a cup-tied deadline-day loan move this season.
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Yet again, however, it looks like Arsenal are moving to sign a goalkeeper, having made an offer for Deniz Donmezer of Adana Demirspor, according to a report from Milliyet in Turkey.
Donmezer is just 16 years old, meaning that the €3 million fee proposed is a steep price to pay for a player with such little experience. According to former Adana vice-president Metin Korkmaz, the elite clubs of the Super Lig are chasing the wonderkid, with Galatasaray in talks, too.
“Arsenal have sent an official offer, they offered €3m,” Korkmaz claims, saying that the Gunners' proposal would see “Deniz will play with us on loan for a year and a half, then he will join Arsenal.”
The Turkish outfit have apparently rejected the offer. FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal are still on the hunt for a long-term backup for Raya after Neto departs, while a third-choice goalkeeper is wanted, too, with current option Tommy Setford torn between youth football and training with the first team as it stands.
Donmezer is highly rated in his country but traditionally, Turkish goalkeepers have a reputation for remaining in the Super Lig, with the likes of Rustu Recber, Volkan Demirel and Ugurcan Cakir spending the majority of their careers in Turkey. That might be changing with the likes of Altay Bayindir, however.
The teenager is worth €300k, as per Transfermarkt. Arsenal take on Girona tonight when Champions League action returns.
