Director suggests Tottenham are going to have to pay £40m if they want sign ‘top level’ player

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Brentford technical director Lee Dykes has suggested that Tottenham Hotspur are going to have to pay £40 million to sign David Raya this summer.

Spurs have been heavily linked with a move for Raya ahead of the summer as they bid to snap up a new number-one goalkeeper.

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris looks set to leave the club after publicly admitting his desire to seek out a new challenge.

Raya has emerged as an early target for Spurs with the Evening Standard claiming they are already close to agreeing personal terms with the Spaniard.

Despite a breakthrough on the player side, Spurs are reluctant to meet Brentford’s asking price of £40 million.

Fabrizio Romano claimed on Monday that Tottenham are hopeful the Bees will lower their demands due to his contract expiring next summer. 

But Lee Dykes has suggested to The Beautiful Game Podcast that Brentford will expect the full £40 million fee to allow Raya to leave. 

Dykes on Raya

Dykes was asked about Bees boss Thomas Frank facing questions on speculation linking Raya with a £20 million switch to Tottenham.

He responded: “Did he [Frank] laugh?”

The Brentford chief was then asked if the club have a fee in mind when it comes to selling Raya this summer.

“No,” Dykes said. “Listen, the market dictates sets itself, so this summer will be a big goalkeeper market. There’s a lot of goalkeepers that are going to be available.”

He added: “Again, Phil [Giles] and Matt [Benham] will assess the valuation at the time. My point on David Raya is, you need to pay double because he can play number 10. You get two positions [he laughed].

“I think Raya’s up there [with the ball at his feet]. I wouldn’t say number one because I don’t really do that as a role. But Raya, I watch him every day in training, he’s top-level.”

Spurs have become renowned for haggling over transfer fees and it’s led to them missing out on some top players over the years.

While Raya is entering the final year of his deal at Brentford, he was arguably one of the standout goalkeepers in the Premier League this season.

At 27, his best years are ahead of him as a goalkeeper and he seems like the ideal replacement for Hugo Lloris. 

Of course, their approach could pay off as Brentford have already signed Raya’s replacement in Mark Flekken.

But they will need to guard against dragging this deal out, especially with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United also in the market for a new shot-stopper.