Rovers, this afternoon, have announced that David Raya has put pen-to=paper on a new long-term deal with the Blues, seeing his deal at Ewood Park run, up until the summer of 2021.
The 22-year-old, who graduated from Rovers’ youth academy after initially joining from Spanish Third Division side, Unión Esportiva Cornellà in 2012 at the age of 16, has seen his development pay off by being rewarded with a new deal, which sees him add an extra two years onto the deal he signed in March 2017.
So far, with Mowbray’s men currently sitting in 2nd place in the League One table, this season sees David hit some fine form with him picking up 10 clean sheets in 29 league appearances, whilst only conceding 27; which is the 3rd least in League One, behind table toppers Wigan Athletic, and promotion-hungry Shrewsbury Town.
Prior to making his debut for the club in 2014 away at Elland Road, against Leeds United under former manager Gary Bowyer, Raya spent four months of that campaign – from September to December – away on loan at Southport, who at the time were a National League side. The shot-stopper impressed a lot of scouts and managers with his notable performances for The Port as Raya played a pivotal part in their FA Cup campaign, which saw them narrowly lose out to Derby County in the 3rd round, with a penalty in added time.
This experience however, coupled with the two games that Raya was given at the end of the 2014-15 season, allowed the Spaniard to mould his game into the goalkeeper who stands between the posts at Ewood Park today and with the 22-year-old recently acquiring the vacant number #1 shirt, following the departure of Jason Steele in the summer, Raya has clearly nailed himself down as Rovers’ first-choice goalkeeper, which would have played a huge part in him believing that his long-term future lied at Rovers.
Raya, was understandably pleased with the new deal and he spoke to the clubs’ media team to shed some more light on his feelings; “I’m very happy to have extended my stay and I’m very thankful to the gaffer and the staff who have allowed me to continue playing for this club. It was a very straightforward decision for me. I’ve been here for six years and I’ve always said that the place feels like home to me now. I always knew that I was going to sign the deal, because I’m happy with how we’re doing and improving as a club with our aim of winning the league. I’m also grateful that the gaffer gave me the chance to keep playing as I knew, last season, that when I got my chance that I had to take it with both hands to claim the number one spot. It’s been different to prepare for the season knowing that I’m going into every game as the starting ‘keeper. I also feel that I have improved this season due to the number of games I’ve played, which as a goalkeeper, is crucial and I believe that signing the new deal allows me to give the club something back for having faith in me from such a young age.”
