Man Utd 'reluctant to pay' £40m asking price for De Gea replacement

James Shearman

• Updated: 9 Jun 2023 06:24 BST
• 4 min read

Man Utd and Tottenham are 'reluctant to pay' Brentford's £40 million asking price for goalkeeper David Raya, according to Sky Sports.

Both clubs are in the market for a new goalkeeper to replace their current shot-stoppers and continue to be linked with Brentford's wantaway Spaniard.

The 27-year-old has shown himself to be a solid goalkeeper - but nothing more. Indeed, a goalkeeping expert has previously told FootballTransfers that Raya is 'overrated.'

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Convinced he has earned himself a big move, Raya is trying to force his way out of the club, with his agent even threatening Brentford that he will walk away as a free agent next term if they don't lower their demands.

Yet the Bees are not prepared to accept less than £40m, despite having already confirmed their replacement: Freiburg star Mark Flekken.

Flekken vs Raya

Manchester United and Tottenham could have had a much cheaper - and arguably better - alternative to Raya in Flekken, who cost Brentford a paltry €13m due to his release clause.

Flekken is older than Raya and unproven in the Premier League - since leaving his native Netherlands - yet he has performed as one of Europe's best goalkeepers at Bundesliga club Freiburg.

— Lyall Thomas (@SkySportsLyall) June 8, 2023

In fact, according to data provided by our partners SciSports, Flekken is Holland's best goalkeeper and statistically better than his Spanish teammate, for the time being, Raya.

That is not to say that Raya can't be a top-level goalkeeper for one of the Premier League's biggest sides, but signing Flekken - as Brentford have - would have been a more shrewd piece of business for United or Spurs.