Raya joined the Gunners last summer on a season-long loan to provide competition to Aaron Ramsdale. However, it soon became clear that the Spanish goalkeeper was seen as No.1 by Mikel Arteta, and the England international was pushed down the pecking order.
As part of the loan deal, there was an option included to allow for a £27m permanent transfer in the summer of 2024. This was not seen as an obligation to buy, though, and Arsenal could have chosen not to activate the clause.
However, an admission on their club website suggests Arsenal have chosen to make the transfer permanent. Raya remains registered as a player for the Gunners in their squad list despite his loan move technically ending on Sunday, June 30.
While this could be explained as an oversight by the Arsenal admin staff, other activity on the website suggests the decision to keep him registered was on purpose. Defender Cedric Soares and midfielder Mohamed Elneny's contracts also expired yesterday, yet they have been removed quickly from the website.
With an agreement for Raya's permanent move now looking to be all but done, Arsenal will be looking at who else they can add to their squad before their pre-season tour later this month. A centre-forward is believed to be one of the top targets for Arteta this summer.
Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, Napoli's Victor Osimhen, and Newcastle United's Alexander Isak have all been shortlisted previously, but there appears to be no imminent moves for any strikers at this stage.
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