Tottenham News Scout: David Raya is the perfect replacement for Hugo Lloris at Tottenham
Tottenham News is delighted to welcome Matthew Chadder as our exclusive columnist for our ‘Spurs Scout’ features. Each week, he’ll be providing his expertise on researching players to give insight on the biggest talking points at Spurs…
According to Martin Lipton, Brentford’s number one David Raya is keen to make the switch from West London to North London and Tottenham this summer.
Raya has captured the attention of many since his arrival in the Premier League, and a move to a so-called “top six” side always seemed on the cards.
The Sun’s Lipton was speaking on Off the Ball (6 June), where he stated that he would be “surprised” if the Spanish goalkeeper wasn’t a Tottenham player come September.
“There have been ongoing conversations. Raya wants to go to Tottenham, Brentford have already got his successor from Freiburg, it’s haggle time,” Lipton said.
“Raya looks like the real deal, and Spurs seem to be, from what I hear, the frontrunners. I would be surprised if he isn’t at Tottenham next season.”
Spurs will need a new number one if Hugo Lloris is to leave the club this summer, something which the Frenchman has expressed his desire to do in a recent interview.
And 27-year-old Raya could be the perfect long-term solution for Spurs’ goalkeeper position.
The Spurs Scout has been analysing Raya and identifying what exactly Spurs fans can expect if he is to arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.
Superpower – Commanding presence
Since Brentford’s promotion to the Premier League, Raya has been one of the Premier League’s top-performing goalkeepers, and the stats back this up.
The former Blackburn man was in the upper percentiles for most statistics during the 2022/23 league season compared to his positional peers in England’s top flight, as per stats provided by FBREF.
One of his biggest strengths is his commanding presence in the penalty area. Raya faced 15.74 crosses per 90 and stopped 1.37 of them, a percentage of 8.7 per cent, which put him in the 95th percentile for this statistic.
In comparison, current Tottenham shot-stopper Lloris prevented 0.82 crosses per 90, which put him in just the 45th percentile compared to other Premier League goalkeepers.
Lloris’ save percentage is also severely underwhelming in comparison to his potential successor.
Raya boasted a 77.7 per cent save percentage in the league last season, placing him in the 98th percentile, compared to Lloris’ 67.5 per cent which put the Frenchman in the 52nd percentile.
Weakness – Adapting to playing out from the back
If Raya is to make the switch to Spurs, he would be expected to play the ball out from the back a lot more than he is currently being asked to do.
The switch from Brentford’s emphasis on long goal-kicks to passing short might prove to be a difficult transition for the goalkeeper.
Stats provided by FBREF show that Raya is often going long directly from a goal-kick. His average goal-kick length per 90 is 51.8 yards which places him in the 95th percentile of this particular statistic.
70.3 per cent of his goal-kicks were longer than 40 yards and he attempted 23.21 passes per 90 which were longer than 40 yards.
If Raya ends up at Tottenham he would need to learn a different style of passing very quickly in order to adapt.
How much will Raya cost?
Despite entering the final 12 months of his contract and having no intention of renewing, the player will not be cheap for any potential clubs who are interested.
As reported by the Evening Standard (12 May), Brentford boss Thomas Frank told the press that Brentford is prepared for approaches and will stand strong.
“There is no doubt that David (Raya) is a case where there is one year left and we will see what will happen. We’re very happy with David here,” Frank said.
“Everyone knows he is a £40m-plus goalkeeper if anyone is interested and we are prepared just like in any position.
“There is a possibility he’ll leave this summer maybe, for the right price, and if that happens then of course we need to be prepared.”
Tottenham’s need for a new number one might mean Brentford is able to squeeze more money out of the club and Daniel Levy.
Where does Raya fit in at Tottenham?
If Spurs are to pay in the region of £40million for the player it is clear Raya would be arriving as the club’s new number-one choice in goal.
Lloris has been with the club for over a decade and spent some of that time as captain, which means any potential replacement will have a big gap to fill both on the pitch and in the dressing room.
This would take a player with a strong mentality and desire to succeed, something which past comments reveal Raya clearly possesses.
In an interview with media outlet AS (17 January), the Spanish international responded confidently when asked about the possibility of bigger challenges in the future.
“Every player has goals and wants to improve. Now I am focused on my team and in the summer we will see what happens.” Raya said.
After making his first-team debut at Blackburn Rovers, Raya spent a long period on the sidelines, but once again showed his impressive mentality by pushing through.
“I didn’t play any league games in that period and only two in the cup without really knowing why, but that helped me progress. I don’t sink if things go wrong and I try even harder to be better, so I focused on improving myself every day.”
These quotes demonstrate the strong mindset of the goalkeeper and this mentality could make him the perfect replacement for Lloris.
Should Spurs buy him?
Raya is an absolute no-brainer from a Tottenham perspective.
His stats and mentality speak for themselves and despite not being used to playing out from the back, this is something that the Spanish goalkeeper could easily pick up.
After having one settled goalkeeper for such a long period of time, Tottenham will need someone to come in who knows the league and can adapt quickly in order to not cause too much turbulence.
Levy should be getting this signing sorted quickly. The question is, will he pay the money?
He certainly should.
In other Tottenham news, Paul Robinson has been giving his exclusive view on Spurs missing out on Europe.