Arsenal may find it "very hard" to win the race for Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia, but they could follow a Liverpool example to edge out other interested parties, expert Charles Watts has theorised.
The Gunners have been persistently linked with an approach for the Spaniard for a number of months and are likely to step up their interest now that Neto will soon head back to parent club Bournemouth.
Garcia could be available for around £21m thanks to a release clause in his contract, but Manchester United and Barcelona have also been tipped to make a move for the 24-year-old, although he has supposedly already turned down the latter.
Two other Premier League sides are already said to have reached a verbal agreement on the player's side too, but Watts wonders whether Arsenal could sign him and loan him out for the 2025-26 season, as Liverpool did with Giorgi Mamardashvili.
"The interest is really mounting," Watts told Sports Mole. "He's had a fantastic season in Spain. They stayed up, which was good for them and him. And there could well be a few goalkeeper moves happening.
"It's pretty clear that Emi Martinez has played his last game for Aston Villa. Unai Emery and Monchi certainly know the Spanish market very, very well. There's strong reports that they like him. Newcastle said to be in the running for him as well.
Watts: 'Very hard for Arsenal to sign Garcia'
"[Arsenal] have put in an awful lot of groundwork, and he was really keen on making the move last summer. By all accounts, I think he is still keen to come here now. But it is going to be a tougher sell because he's going to be coming as a number two goalkeeper.
"When so many clubs are in for him and you're not offering him the number one spot, it's probably going to be very hard to get a deal done. It was interesting that Barcelona were keen on signing him and then loaning him out again straight away. I was wondering if that's something Arsenal could potentially do.
"They've got Karl Hein coming back who performed in La Liga last season. I think he had a decent enough season. Could you bring Karl Hein back, give him a season as number two and let Garcia continue to play somewhere else? Kind of like what Liverpool have done with Mamardashvili. That's an option for Arsenal."
While Garcia could realistically challenge Andre Onana for the number one spot at Man United or Nick Pope for the gloves at Newcastle United, he would be unlikely to usurp David Raya at Arsenal.
The former Brentford man - who shared the 2024-25 Premier League Golden Glove with Nottingham Forest's Matz Sels - has made himself Mikel Arteta's undisputed number one since his original loan move in 2023 courtesy of his astounding reactions and confidence with the ball at his feet.
While his former backup Neto has now played his last game for the Gunners, Estonia international Karl Hein is due to return from his loan spell at Real Valladolid, who were relegated from La Liga last term.
What will happen with Karl Hein?
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Hein has only ever played one match for Arsenal - a 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the 2022-23 EFL Cup - and Watts believes that he could fill the number two void next season, thus allowing Garcia to go out on loan.
"He signed a new deal before he went off; he's still got a couple of years," he added. "He's had a very good season despite relegation, played every single game. What's he going to want to do next season? Does he really want to go back to sitting on the bench, playing a few games for the Under-23s? Probably not.
"He's an international goalkeeper now. They'll have to work out what to do with him as well. Maybe you could offer him the number two job for a season, give him some cup games, that could be enough for him to stick around for a season.
"But I think Arsenal fans, if you're spending £25m on a goalkeeper and then sending him immediately out on loan, that might not go down too well when that money could be invested in the attack. It's a fine balancing act."
As well as Hein, who is now 23 years old, Arsenal have a few teenage shot-stoppers coming through the ranks in Tommy Setford, Jack Porter, Alexei Rojas and Lucas Nygaard, the former of whom appears closest to the first team.
Setford made the switch to the Emirates from the Ajax academy last summer, and the 2006-born goalkeeper made his senior Gunners debut in their EFL Cup fourth-round victory at Preston North End.
Arsenal told to loan out 19-year-old goalkeeping talent
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However, Watts would rather see Setford loaned out for the 2025-26 season, as the teenager cannot be expected to act as Raya's number two for the whole of next term.
"Setford needs a loan next season," he concluded. "I think that's the plan for him. He's still very, very young. It's different with a goalkeeper, isn't it? Trusting an 18-year-old outfield player feels easier to do than trusting an 18-year-old goalkeeper.
"If something was to happen to David Raya - fortunately, it didn't happen this season - but if something was to, you think of Kelleher for Liverpool. Alisson missed a lot of that season, but in Kelleher, they had a real top quality number two that could come in and make sure that Alisson wasn't missed that much.
"If David Raya had missed those amount of games that Alisson did, I think we'd have been pretty worried, given what we saw from Neto in a couple of games when he did come in into the side. And that was an experienced goalkeeper, but if it's going to be an 18, 19-year-old kid, then that is a worry.
"I do think it's an important position in the squad. It's one you need to get right, the number two, just for the protection factor. Setford is far too young, a loan would definitely be best for him."
Arsenal are also expected to pursue a new striker, number six and left-winger this summer, and Watts explained why he would prefer to see the Gunners move for Rodrygo over AC Milan's Rafael Leao.
Ben Knapton
