Brentford goalkeeper David Raya no longer has a release clause in his contract with the club, a report from The Athletic has revealed.

Raya joined Brentford from Blackburn back in the summer of 2019, and has since gone on to make 97 appearances in all competitions for the Bees.

The Spaniard's performances had seen him linked with Arsenal, with the Gunners seemingly keen to strengthen their options behind Bernd Leno in the goalkeeping pecking order.

Now however, it seems as though their hopes of doing that with Raya, have now been handed something of a setback.

According to this latest update, Brentford's promotion to the Premier League - which was secured with play-off final victory over Swansea on Saturday - means that the release clause in the goalkeeper's contract is now invalid.

As a result, Brentford are now in a strong position to negotiate any offer that comes in for the 25-year-old, who has three years remaining on his current deal with the Bees.

The Verdict

This will be somewhat frustrating for those of an Arsenal persuasion.

Obviously there is nothing to say they cannot make an offer for Raya this summer anyway, but it is now likely they will have to pay much more than they would have done had that release clause still been in effect.

However, even if that does happen, you have to wonder whether a move to Arsenal would actually appeal to Raya.

A move to the Emirates would likely leave Raya playing second fiddle to Bernd Leno, while remaining at Brentford for next season would probably give the Spaniard the opportunity to prove himself as a regular Premier League goalkeeper, which surely ought to be tempting for him.