One of Real Madrid's key players has been linked consistently to Arsenal. Now, Florentino Perez has set a reasonable €25m transfer price.
Real Madrid have become inundated with interest in their star players since the summer transfer window opened. This is something which Carlo Ancelotti would have expected after his side proved their status as the best, winning the treble in the last domestic campaign. One club who are clearly loitering in the transfer window is Arsenal...
The Gunners are interested in not one but two Real Madrid players. They first became interested in signing Rodrygo but when Andriy Lunin became unsettled at the club, Mikel Arteta was also monitoring his situation. Now, Florentino Perez has made his demands clear... On one of those players.
According to reports in Spain (h/t Football365), Florentino Perez would not step in the way of a potential transfer seeing Andriy Lunin to Arsenal. In fact, the Real Madrid president has made his demands clear, if Arsenal pay €25m (£21m), they can sign Andriy Lunin.
Lunin is set to be an early returnee from international competition. Despite Ukraine showing heart in EURO 2024, they were eliminated. Admittedly, they were in a difficult group but Andriy Lunin's error leading to goal in the first group stage match didn't stand them in good stead.
Andriy Lunin had his breakthrough season in 2023/24 but it was only due to Thiabut Courtois becoming injured halfway through the season. If Thibaut Courtois was fully fit, Lunin would not have started many games. This was proven in the Champions League final, when Ancelotti opted for Courtois rather than the man who got them to the final, Lunin.
So, understandably, Lunin is fed up of being second best, hence why he is linked with a move away from Real Madrid in the summer. However, it does seem confusing that Arsenal of all clubs are interested in signing him.
After all, Andriy Lunin does not stand much more chance of making the first team at Arsenal than he did at Real Madrid. David Raya had a brilliant breakthrough season last time out, even displacing Aaron Ramsdale. The Spanish goalkeeper won the Premier League golden glove (most clean sheets last season), despite playing less matches than his counterparts.
That said, Mikel Arteta is known to play checkers with his goalkeeper options. It is for this reason that Bernd Leno was originally displaced by Aaron Ramsdale and then why Aaron Ramsdale was displaced by David Raya. There is every possibility that Raya could be displaced by Lunin.