Arsenal transfer blow as target’s club “would prefer to sell to Real Madrid” | OneFootball

Arsenal will need to sign a new goalkeeper during the summer transfer window, with Neto set to return to Bournemouth upon the expiry of his loan. The expectation is that they will look to replace the Brazilian with a target from last summer that they tried to bring in before having to settle for a loan agreement with their Premier League rivals.

In 2024, Arsenal tried – and failed – to sign Joan Garcia. They only made a concrete move for the 23-year-old once Aaron Ramsdale was sold to Southampton, but by that point, Espanyol made it clear that they would only sell if his €30m release clause was activated – and The Gunners decided against doing this.

Despite this setback, Arsenal have not given up hope of bringing Garcia to the Emirates. Recent reports have stated that they are favourites to sign him during this summer’s transfer window, although it will not be straightforward to do so.

Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia celebrates (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Arsenal face strong competition for Joan Garcia

According to journalist Eduardo Inda on program El Chiringuito de Jugones (via Fichajes), Espanyol would prefer to sell Garcia to Real Madrid. Barcelona are also said to be interested in the goalkeeper, although the Catalans do not want to sell to their bitter rivals.

“Joan García seems to me to be one of the great sensations of La Liga. He is a huge goalkeeper. He has an affordable clause of €30m and it would drop to €15m if Espanyol are relegated. Espanyol know that Barcelona are after the goalkeeper, who is Catalan. Espanyol has conveyed to Real Madrid that they are interested in selling, and that they prefer to sell him to them rather than to Barcelona.”

Reports in Spain have stated that Garcia will be looking to be a starter at his next club, and this could be bad news for Arsenal as they would be signing him to act as backup to David Raya, who has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the last 18 months. However, this also plays against Real Madrid, who have Thibaut Courtois.