Almunia set for Spanish shores?

For a club that has found it extremely difficult to find a goalkeeper to rely upon over recent seasons, with many pundits stating that the side will be unable to upset the fixed odds and taste Premier League glory until they settle upon a consistent number one between the sticks, Arsenal have taken the brave step of telling one of their existing goalkeepers that they can leave the club when the January transfer window opens.

Manuel Almunia, who lost his place in the Gunners’ starting line-up after a spell of errors earlier this season, with Lukasz Fabianski upping his game between the sticks ever since to keep the Spaniard on the substitute bench, has been told that he’s free to look for a new club so that he can continue to play first-team football in the years left before his retirement from the game. With the 33-year-old likely to make the next club he plays for the one he sticks at for the rest of his career, it’s important that Arsenal accept not only the best offer for them financially, but the best offer for the goalkeeper himself.

Looking at the best odds surrounding his transfer, it currently seems that Atletico Madrid are the likeliest option for Almunia, with the Spanish side reportedly lining up a £1.5 million transfer. However, such a relatively cheap valuation of the Spaniard may not provide Arsenal with the funds they need if they want to bring in another goalkeeper to provide stiff and consistent competition in the long-term for Fabianski.

If this transfer is, as expected in some quarters, pushed through in January, it will be interesting to see what Atletico decide to do with David de Gea, who is rated highly across Europe. If they decide to sell him to raise funds, whilst bringing in the undoubtedly cheap option of Almunia, there will be more than a few Premier League clubs, perhaps including Arsenal, ready to pounce.