Aaron Ramsdale has gone from the perfect goalkeeper within the Premier League to benchwarmer within the house of just a few months. Believable desires of usurping Jordan Pickford as England primary in time for Euro 2024 at the moment are solely a distant reminiscence and his profession has come to a standstill.
That Mikel Arteta has readily relegated the 25-year-old to second alternative is weird and proof of simply how dedicated he’s to his imaginative and prescient and the undertaking by bringing in David Raya. The Gunners have willingly disregarded a prime class £30m stopper revered and voted for by opponents in final season’s PFA poll, for one they may pay out £27m for as a result of he’s deemed a barely higher match.
Arsenal are not any worse off for having switched to Raya. However Ramsdale can’t proceed like this. Nonetheless very younger for a goalkeeper, the suitable transfer will reignite his profession and will but propel him into beginning rivalry for England come the subsequent World Cup in 2026.
However he has to maneuver and it needs to be this summer time.
It might be a flip up for the books if Ramsdale successfully swapped positions with Raya, filling the Spaniard’s gloves again at Brentford.
The Bees invested £11m in Mark Flekken as a substitute final summer time, however the Dutchman is already 30 and never essentially a long-term funding.
The difficulty is whether or not Ramsdale would view a membership that’s presently struggling within the backside half of the desk as an excessive amount of of a step down.
Match? 3/10
Peter Gulacsi has been RB Leipzig’s beginning goalkeeper since 2015, but the Hungarian stopper did not instantly win his place again after getting back from long-term damage earlier this season. He may even quickly be 34, whereas different Janis Blaswich is shortly going to show 33.
A number of English gamers who’ve taken the plunge by shifting to Germany lately have thrived and Leipzig can constantly provide European soccer, even when it isn’t at all times the Champions League.
The key disadvantage for Ramsdale is his desire to remain in England.
Match? 4/10
Brighton are arguably a extra aggressive model of Brentford and going after Ramsdale may point out to supervisor Roberto De Zerbi that it’s worthwhile resisting the attract of Liverpool or Bayern Munich after the boss brazenly prompt his future shall be decided by the membership’s ambition.
The Seagulls do not presently have a longtime beginning goalkeeper, flitting between the uncooked Bart Verbruggen and former understudy Jason Steele all through 2023/24. Brighton can be solely a brief hop from London, whereas the south coast has already performed an enormous half in his profession after first coming to prominence whereas at Bournemouth.
Brighton in all probability will not be capable of put Ramsdale right into a place the place he can recurrently compete for trophies and are nonetheless extra a ‘stepping stone’ membership.
Match? 5/10
Even with staying in England the perfect, having the possibility to hitch a real European large like Bayern Munich is a unique form of proposition altogether and never one that might be simple to show down.
Manuel Neuer is 38 and now not the goalkeeper who was difficult for the Ballon d’Or a decade in the past. There’s a actual probability for somebody to turn into Bayern’s new primary throughout the subsequent yr or two.
Offers for Harry Kane and Eric Dier prior to now 12 months alone have proven the membership’s willingness to buy within the English market too.
Match? 7/10
Present Newcastle primary Nick Pope is a dependable and confirmed Premier League goalkeeper. However the Magpies are an formidable membership decided to turn into Champions League regulars and title challengers, so the chance to land a greater, youthful starter might be troublesome to disregard.
Newcastle aren’t the completed product, however there’s definitely much more probability that they may get there to problem the highest golf equipment for silverware in a method that Brentford and Brighton simply will not.
It might imply considerably uprooting his personal life. However Ramsdale is a northerner at coronary heart, rising up in north Staffordshire and spending the youth of his senior profession in Yorkshire.
Match? 8/10
Regardless of spending as much as £25m on Robert Sanchez and as much as one other £14m on Djordje Petrovic, Chelsea nonetheless have not nailed the goalkeeping place. Even earlier than Sanchez succumbed to damage there have been doubts in regards to the Spaniard’s long-term suitability, whereas Kepa Arrizabalaga can be nonetheless on the books even when the possibilities of re-establishing himself are slim to nil.
Ramsdale could be one other sizeable outlay however Chelsea would possibly be capable of elevate the money by means of gross sales and he is arguably a big improve on the present choices in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
For Ramsdale himself, remaining in London means he may keep put from a household perspective, whereas if Chelsea can pull themselves out of their present gap to compete they may as soon as extra turn into a ‘vacation spot membership’ that gamers aspire to hitch reasonably than a stepping stone to greater issues.
Match? 9/10