Tommy Setford

Setford joins Stevenage for the season, the loan is official

Tommy Setford, 20, is joining Stevenage of League One on loan for the whole of the 2026/27 season. Behind Raya, Kepa and Illan Meslier since the summer, he had only played in the cups over the past two seasons and Arsenal wanted to find him games. No fee and no purchase option have been announced.

Latest development

1. 2 September — The loan is official, and the destination changed at the last minute. Arsenal announced on the night of the deadline that Tommy Setford is joining Stevenage, of League One, for the whole of the 2026/27 season. The club praises a goalkeeper who became important within its goalkeeping unit over two years in London, and says it wants to find him games. The Las Palmas route, worked on all through August, never came off. Setford had slipped behind Raya, Kepa and Meslier, and had played only in the cups since arriving from Ajax in 2024.

   1 September (evening): the destination has changed. Talks with Las Palmas bogged down, and League One side Stevenage have taken the lead in the race for a Tommy Setford loan. Several clubs were following the 20-year-old goalkeeper, fourth choice since Meslier arrived, and the English side are now described as best placed. Nothing is signed, and the file can still swing before the window shuts.

2. 01/09Las Palmas and Arsenal are now working on the deal together.

   The Canary Islands club want a season-long loan that would give the 20-year-old a starting place in the Spanish second division. Meslier's arrival this summer blocked the queue behind Raya and Kepa, and there is little left for Setford to gain as fourth choice. Nothing is signed with hours left before the deadline, but the move is described as heading in the right direction.

3. 26/08 (morning)still expected to leave, still with no destination settled.

   ArsenalNews reported again on 25 August that Tommy Setford is set to go out on loan before the deadline, with Arsenal looking to guarantee him game time, and that Las Palmas remain the destination mentioned. No agreement has been announced with eight days left in the window.

   Line opened on 20/08. Sam Dean (The Telegraph) wrote on 7 August that Arsenal and Las Palmas were working on a season-long loan for Tommy Setford. Daily Cannon, VAVEL and ArsenalNews picked the story up on 6 and 7 August, adding that the move is tied to the situation of Las Palmas keeper Dinko Horkas, wanted by Celtic: until the Canary Islanders free up the spot, the loan cannot be completed.

   The sporting logic is clear: with Raya, Kepa and now Meslier ahead of him, Setford has no route to the starting XI, and he is 20. What is established: talks between the two clubs, reported by a serious journalist. What is not: no agreement announced, and no fresh reporting since 7 August. The line opens at talks level, nothing more.