David Raya

David Raya Martín (born 15 September 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Brentford and the Spain national team. He began his senior career with Blackburn Rovers and transferred to Brentford in 2019.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Raya and the second or maternal family name is Martín.
David Raya
Raya warming up for Blackburn Rovers in 2017
Personal information
Full name David Raya Martín[1]
Date of birth (1995-09-15) 15 September 1995[2]
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Brentford
Number 1
Youth career
Cornellà
2012–2014 Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2019 Blackburn Rovers 98 (0)
2014–2015 → Southport (loan) 16 (0)
2019– Brentford 148 (0)
International career‡
2022– Spain 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:06, 14 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:08, 28 March 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Blackburn Rovers

Born in Barcelona, Raya began his career in his native Spain and combined goalkeeping with playing as an outfield player in futsal.[4] He later played youth football for UE Cornellà, before moving to England to join Blackburn Rovers on a scholarship in July 2012.[5][2] Two years earlier, the transfer of Hugo Fernández to Ewood Park had led to an agreement between the two clubs for UE Cornellà players to join Blackburn Rovers for trials.[4] He progressed through the club's academy and signed a professional contract on 26 February 2014.[6] Raya gained his first senior experience with a four-month spell on loan at Conference Premier club Southport during the first half of the 2014–15 season and made 24 appearances.[7] After his return to Ewood Park, he made two late-season Championship appearances and signed a new three-year contract in April 2015.[8][9]

Despite making just 13 appearances during the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons,[10][11] Raya was Rovers' second-choice goalkeeper behind Jason Steele and was a frequent member of the matchday squad.[2][12] Rovers' relegation to League One at the end of the 2016–17 season saw Raya take over as the club's first-choice goalkeeper.[13][14] He made 47 appearances during the 2017–18 season and helped the club to automatic promotion straight back to the Championship.[13][15] He retained in his place during 2018–19 and made 46 appearances during a season of consolidation in the Championship.[13][16] Raya departed Rovers in July 2019,[7] after making 108 appearances for the club.[17]

Brentford
Raya playing for Brentford in 2021.

On 6 July 2019, Raya signed for Championship club Brentford on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee,[7] reported to be in the region of £3 million.[18] Raya's performances during the first half of the 2019–20 season earned him a nomination for Goalkeeper of the Year at the 2020 London Football Awards and his 16 clean sheets in league matches during the season saw him share the EFL Golden Glove award with Bartosz Białkowski.[19][20] Raya made 49 appearances during a season which ended with a 2–1 2020 Championship play-off Final defeat to West London rivals Fulham.[21][22]

Injury and transfer speculation led to Raya being left out of head coach Thomas Frank's matchday squads during the 2020–21 pre-season and early in the regular season.[23][24][12][25][26] After being reintegrated with two EFL Cup appearances and captaining the team in both matches,[27][28] he signed a new four-year contract on 2 October 2020.[29] Raya finished the 2020–21 season with 48 appearances, 17 clean sheets and a promotion medal,[27] earned with a 2–0 2021 Championship play-off Final victory over Swansea City.[30] In his growing role as a sweeper-keeper, Raya attempted 300 more passes than any other Championship goalkeeper during the season.[4]

Raya began the 2021–22 season as an ever-present in Premier League matches,[31] before suffering a posterior cruciate ligament injury during a 2–1 defeat to Leicester City on 24 October 2021.[32] He returned to outdoor training on 10 January 2022.[33] After a behind closed doors friendly appearance on 1 February 2022,[34] Raya made his return to competitive match play with a start in a 4–1 FA Cup fourth round defeat to Everton four days later.[31] He was an ever-present until the end of the campaign and finished a mid-table season with 25 appearances.[31][35]

Raya continued as an ever-present in league matches during the 2022–23 season and his performances during an unbeaten January 2023 (during which Brentford challenged the European places) saw him nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award.[36][37][38] That same month, Raya rejected a second offer of a new contract.[37] He was a member of the club's leadership group during the season.[3]

International career

After failing to receive a call-up by Spain at youth level,[39] Raya won his maiden international call-up to the senior team for a pair of friendlies in March 2022.[40] He made his debut with a start in a 2–1 win over Albania on 26 March and remained an unused substitute in the second match.[40] Raya was an unused substitute in all six of Spain's 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A fixtures.[12] In November 2022, Raya was named in Spain's 2022 World Cup squad.[40] Prior to the team's exit in the round of 16,[41] his only match play during the period came with a second half substitute appearance in a pre-tournament friendly versus Jordan.[42]

Style of play

A sweeper-keeper, Raya "is renowned as a vocal keeper, as well as one who is adept with the ball at his feet".[43] He "can play out from the back and is happy covering the space in behind", which allows a team "to play with a high line".[7] As a result of his and Brentford's style of play during the 2020–21 season, Raya attempted 300 more passes than any other goalkeeper in the Championship.[43]

Personal life

Raya grew up in Pallejà and is a Real Madrid supporter.[4][44]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 14 May 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Blackburn Rovers 2014–15[9] Championship 20—00—20
2015–16[10] Championship 500000—50
2016–17[11] Championship 501020—80
2017–18[15] League One 450002000470
2018–19[16] Championship 4102030—460
Total 9803070001080
Blackburn Rovers U23 2016–17[11] —3[lower-alpha 1]030
Southport (loan) 2014–15[12] Conference Premier 16060—2[lower-alpha 2]0240
Brentford 2019–20[21] Championship 46000003[lower-alpha 3]0490
2020–21[27] Championship 42000303[lower-alpha 3]0480
2021–22[31] Premier League 2401000—250
2022–23[36] Premier League 3600010—370
Total 14801040601590
Career total 26201001101102930
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in FA Trophy
  3. Appearances in Championship play-offs

International
As of match played 28 March 2023[42]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 202220
Total20

Honours

Blackburn Rovers

Brentford

Individual

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Brentford" (PDF). English Football League. p. 12. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  2. "David Raya". Blackburn Rovers F.C. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  3. Harris, Jay. "David Raya exclusive on his future, Champions League dream and dealing with errors". The Athletic. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  4. Marshall, Sam. "The Long Read: David Raya". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  5. "List of Players Registered as Scholars in Accordance with Rule C.3 Between 01/07/2012 and 31/07/2012". The Football Association. p. 49. Retrieved 7 July 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Raya pens pro deal". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  7. "David Raya signs for Brentford". Brentford F.C. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  8. "Hard work pays off for David". Blackburn Rovers F.C. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  9. "Games played by David Raya in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  10. "Games played by David Raya in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  11. "Games played by David Raya in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  12. David Raya at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  13. Blackburn Rovers F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  14. "David Raya pens long-term Rovers deal". Blackburn Rovers F.C. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  15. "Games played by David Raya in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  16. "Games played by David Raya in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  17. David Raya at Soccerbase
  18. "Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper David Raya completes Brentford move". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  19. "Bees up for London Football Awards prizes". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  20. "David Raya presented with EFL Golden Glove prize". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  21. "Games played by David Raya in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  22. "Fulham beat Brentford to reach Premier League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  23. Fisher, Ben; Ames, Nick (17 September 2020). "Brentford reject multiple bids from Arsenal for goalkeeper David Raya". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  24. Westbrook, Ian (12 September 2020). "Raya set for return to training, says Frank". West London Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  25. "Brentford 2 Oxford United 2". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  26. "Pre-season: Brentford 3–0 Derby County". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  27. "Games played by David Raya in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  28. Verrall, John (23 September 2020). "Club now give player captain's armband, after reports Arsenal have bid for him". HITC. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  29. "David Raya signs new long-term contract". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  30. Vincent, Gareth (29 May 2021). "Brentford 2–0 Swansea City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  31. "Games played by David Raya in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  32. "David Raya sustains knee injury". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  33. "David Raya roars back in to training". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  34. "Bees beaten by Aston Villa in friendly". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  35. "Tables – Premier League – England – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  36. "Games played by David Raya in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  37. "Raya 'happy' despite rejecting new Brentford deals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  38. "Rashford voted EA SPORTS Player of the Month". Premier League. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  39. Bosher, Luke. "Manchester United's David de Gea left out of Spain squad with Brentford's David Raya included instead". The Athletic. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  40. "Raya in Spain squad". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  41. "Hakimi hits winning penalty as Morocco stun Spain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  42. "David Raya". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  43. Nash, Matthew (20 August 2021). "David Raya predicts more Premier League scalps for Brentford after Arsenal upset". Metro. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  44. "Get to Know: David Raya". Brentford F.C. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  45. Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-4722-6106-9.
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