Arsenal will need to pay more for Joan Garcia from Thursday

Arsenal will need to pay more to sign Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia from Thursday, according to Mundo Deportivo (page 18).

The Gunners have David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale as their first and second-choice goalkeepers, but the latter could leave this month.

The club recently turned down an initial loan move from Ajax and they would prefer to sell Ramsdale on a permanent deal this summer.

The Dutch giants have not given up on the Englishman and could return with a more favourable offer.

Arsenal have identified Garcia as a potential replacement for Ramsdale, but Mundo Deportivo claim that he could become more expensive.

The 23-year-old currently has a release clause worth £21.5 million in his contract, but that will increase to £25.8m from August 15 onwards.

Espanyol are quite clear that they don’t want to sell him on the cheap. Their negotiating power is likely to increase with the new valuation.

Arsenal unlikely to land Garcia on a cut-price deal

Garcia was a regular on the bench for Espanyol, but he got the opportunity during the back end of last season.

He kept eight clean sheets from 14 league games for the Spanish side as they secured promotion to La Liga.

As per Mundo Deportivo, his ‘unstoppable growth’ has caught the eye of many clubs, but Arsenal seem most interested.

The club are unlikely to trigger his clause until Ramsdale’s future is resolved which suggests they could pay a higher fee.

Garcia has four more years left on his contract and he was recently part of the Spain side which won Gold at the Olympics.

Arsenal need to sort out Ramsdale’s departure at the earliest such that they can negotiate payment terms with Espanyol.

Else, the Gunners may have to trigger the clause (single payment). Espanyol could be reluctant to discuss a deal in the final week of the transfer window.

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