Arsenal are ready to secure the services of Mat Ryan on a permanent basis, after signing him on from Brighton & Hove Albion in January.
According to Football Insider, Arsenal are closing in on the permanent capture of Mat Ryan. They are in advanced talks with Brighton & Hove Albion over the transfer of the goalkeeper, who joined the club on a short-term loan deal in the January transfer window. The deal is set to be finalised shortly, with the player becoming Arsenal’s first signing of the summer.
Ryan’s current contract at Brighton expires at the end of the next season so he is likely to cost lesser than the Seagulls £10 million January valuation for Arsenal this summer. The Australian fell behind Robert Sanchez in the pecking order for the Seagulls, so a permanent move to Emirates appears to be the likely outcome of this transfer saga.
Arsenal’s desire to sign Ryan on a permanent is somewhat shocking, however, given the fact that the club already have two viable goalkeeping options in Bernd Leno and Runar Alex Runarsson, who was roped in from Dijon last summer.
Although the Icelandic international has struggled to impress the onlookers in his limited amount of opportunities, it appears Arsenal are more worried about Leno’s performances, especially in the long term
The German international was favoured by the club last summer, ahead of Emiliano Martinez despite struggling with injuries during the second half of the campaign. Unfortunately, their decision hasn’t paid off quite well as Leno has failed to offer much consistency in between the sticks and has been outperformed by Martinez, who is currently plying his trade with Aston Villa.
The permanent addition of someone like Ryan, in that regard, could make sense. The 29-year-old has a vast amount of experience in English football, having made 123 Premier League appearances and could compete with Leno for a place in the first-team next season.
Ryan’s experience isn’t only restricted to England, however, as the Australian also had a stint with Valencia, featuring in 23 competitive matches while the custodian has also won 58 caps for the national team.
At Arsenal, Ryan is guaranteed to become the club’s desired cup goalkeeper as well as the number one alternative for Leno. However, it will be interesting to see whether or not his permanent arrival could tempt the Gunners to cash in on Runarsson, who could certainly use more regular first-team opportunities elsewhere.
