"Luckily, that didn't happen": Premier League goalkeeper was on the verge of a move to Bayern Munich

"I was on the verge of moving to another club, but luckily that didn’t happen, and eventually Arsenal made an offer and I came here," Raya told Sky Sports, adding: "Which club? It was FC Bayern Munich."

His comments also give an indication of when this took place. Raya initially moved to London on loan from Brentford in the summer of 2023. A year later, the Gunners paid a transfer fee of around €32 million to the Bees. 

Bayern, on the other hand, secured the services of Daniel Peretz in the summer of 2023, although he only made seven appearances for the club in Munich. At the start of the current season, the Israeli therefore joined HSV on loan, where he lost out to Daniel Heuer Fernandes in the internal battle for the number one spot. The loan deal was therefore terminated in the winter. 

Since then, Peretz has been between the sticks for Southampton FC – and has a regular place in the starting line-up for the English second-tier side. The Saints are reported to have secured a buy-out clause of eight million euros. 

Before Peretz’s move to Munich, Bayern had certainly struggled in the goalkeeping department. At the end of 2022, Manuel Neuer broke his lower leg, amongst other injuries, following a skiing accident and was sidelined for almost a full year. At the start of 2023, the Munich club were therefore forced to sign a replacement. Yann Sommer arrived from Gladbach for a reported nine million euros – with the aim, among other things, of winning the Champions League. As is well known, the plan failed.

Partly due to an agreement, Sommer, who was always viewed with scepticism in Munich, was not prevented from moving to Inter Milan after the second half of the season. Until Neuer’s return, Sven Ulreich stood between the posts: the veteran was given another chance in the Bundesliga against Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, providing reliable cover, but picked up an injury in the process. Neuer’s first-choice replacement is now Jonas Urbig, who, thanks to his strong performances, has even been called up to the German national team by manager Julian Nagelsmann. 

Raya, meanwhile, has established himself as Arsenal’s clear number one and currently has a good chance of winning his first club titles. The Gunners lead the Premier League table and are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. On Sunday, they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Raya has a contract valid until 2028. 

Neuer’s future at Bayern, on the other hand, remains uncertain. No decision has yet been made as to whether he will extend his contract, which expires in the summer, or aim to retire. Sporting director Christoph Freund recently commented: “We’ll see what April and early May bring, when he’s back in goal, how he feels then, including in English fixtures.” Neuer will then "approach us" and "we will have discussions together and see which direction things should take."