Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale seems likely to leave the club in this summer’s transfer window, according to Gunners journalist Charles Watts.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Watts explained that Ramsdale’s position looked more or less decided once David Raya joined Arsenal on loan from Brentford, with that deal set to be made permanent for £27million.
Raya has clearly become Mikel Arteta’s new number one ahead of Ramsdale, so it now just seems like a matter of when, rather than if, Arsenal let the England international go this summer.
Still, Watts did concede that one issue for Arsenal now is that their negotiating position on Ramsdale will be weaker, as everyone knows they’re under pressure to sell, meaning they have probably missed out on banking as much as £50million on him.
Ramsdale transfer: Arsenal will want big money but their negotiating position has weakened
Discussing what we can expect from Arsenal and Ramsdale this summer, Watts said: “Aaron Ramsdale’s future will certainly be one of the headline acts of the summer window. I’m certain he will leave, because Arsenal will sign David Raya on a permanent basis for £27million, barring any sort of major injury issue between now and then obviously. And we’ve seen this season that having two keepers of that stature just doesn’t really work. One was always going to go and from the moment Raya was established as No.1, it was always going to be Ramsdale to depart.
“Arsenal will want big money for him. They spent £30m to bring him in from Bournemouth and he has established himself as a top international keeper since then. But it will be difficult. Clubs, aside from a select few, are not flush with money right now due to the profit and sustainability regulations.
“But also, Arsenal are not exactly in a strong position when it comes to negotiating. Everyone knows Arsenal will be open to a sale, but they also know that Ramsdale is pretty much surplus to requirements given that Raya is now undisputed No.1. Had Ramsdale been a regular starter, Arsenal could quite reasonably have demanded around £50m to do business. But it will be much, much harder for them to do that now, given his situation.
“I’ve not really heard anything yet about clubs who might be interested. Chelsea are always mentioned and that could be an option when you look at the way they have chopped and changed keepers. But right now it’s far from clear what the future holds for Ramsdale. The only certainty really is that it does now lie with Arsenal.”
Ramsdale is surely good enough to do a job for Chelsea, given what he showed for Arsenal before being rather unfortunate to lose his place to Raya, so it will be interesting to see if that interest solidifies soon.
