Rovers have today announced the departure of youth academy graduate and first-team goalkeeper David Raya, to Brentford, after a deal, reportedly in the region of £3m, was agreed for the Spanish shot-stopper.
Raya, who joined Rovers’ youth academy in 2012, after being plucked from Catalan side UE Cornellà in Barcelona, spent 7 years on the clubs’ books. Whilst a brief loan spell at Southport helped Raya adapt to the standards of English football, during the 2014-15 season, the Barcelona-born goalie would then go on to play a total of 108 games in all competitions, in the Blue and White halves, racking up 32 clean sheets in the process.
Despite being tipped to evolve under the stewardship of Tony Mowbray and continue his fine form that saw him emerge as Rovers’ number one, the interest from Brentford in the ‘keeper seemed too good to turn down for Rovers, who have pocketed a respectable sum for their now-former goalkeeper.
From the club’s perspective, Rovers have wished their former ‘keeper well for the future. However, the Rovers fans will be tentatively anticipating a capable experienced replacement to come in, to not only fill the sudden void left by Raya’s departure, but to challenge the existing goalkeepers at the club, Jayson Leutwiler and Andrew Fisher.
