View: Tottenham should spend the £40million on David Raya amid Giorgi Mamardashvili links
A new goalkeeper is an absolute priority for Tottenham ahead of next season.
Spurs conceded 63 Premier League goals last season. Only five sides in the division shipped more and three of the teams that did so were relegated.
It is painfully clear that a defensive rebuild is needed at the club and a new goalkeeper should be a priority among that.
Long-term number one Hugo Lloris came under fire for his performances last season and looks destined to leave the club this summer.
He confirmed in an interview with Nice-Matin (2 June) that he has “desires for other things” following his 11-year spell with Tottenham.
With Lloris potentially on his way out and Fraser Forster turning 36 next March, the club are in the market for a new shot-stopper.
Brentford’s David Raya has been widely tipped to join and personal terms have reportedly been agreed. However, Fabrizio Romano has now provided an update in the hunt for a new man between the posts.
The Italian journalist tweeted (21 June) that “Spurs have now started contacts to be informed on Giorgi Mamardashvili deal conditions.”
With the price tag seemingly an issue between the Bees and Spurs over Raya, it appears Daniel Levy is beginning to search elsewhere.
However, the stats suggest that any extra cost for Raya would be worth the outlay when comparing the two keepers.
As per stats provided by FBREF, Mamardashvili made 2.76 saves per 90 minutes, which placed him in the lower 60 percentile compared to his peers in Europe across the last year. Meanwhile, Raya was in the top one per cent of European goalkeepers when it came to saves made (4.05 per 90).
This is despite Raya facing more shots on target per 90 (5.18) than Valencia’s first-choice (3.89), which gave the Spaniard a much more impressive save percentage (77.7 per cent per 90) than Mamardashvili (70.9 per cent per 90).
Raya also boasted a much superior clean sheet percentage (31.6 per cent) compared to the young Georgian keeper (18.4 per cent).
The Premier League goalkeeper is also more dominant when it comes to stopping crosses compared to his LaLiga counterpart. Raya prevented 1.37 crosses per 90 which placed him in the top four per cent of European keepers compared to Mamardashvili who would only stop 0.92 crosses per 90, placing him in the 69th percentile.
Raya is also clearly more confident with the ball at his feet. The Spanish shot-stopper would attempt 35.97 passes per 90, placing him in the top seven per cent in regard to this particular statistic, while 22-year-old Mamardashvili attempted just 22.18 passes per 90.
Although Mamardashvili is much younger and may develop into a better goalkeeper with time, Raya is a Premier League proven player who is ready to make the next step now. If Tottenham are deciding between the two, they should definitely spend the extra money on the Brentford keeper.
The club are in need of a top goalkeeper right now, not one for the future.