CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs has suggested that it could become tough for Arsenal to lock down their talented center-back William Saliba to a new deal. The Frenchman returned from his loan spell at Marseille this summer as Mikel Arteta assured him of a first-team role. And fast forward two months, the 21-year-old has become a core member of the Gunners’ squad which has them sitting atop of the Premier League.
Saliba was Arsenal’s 2019 signing from French side St. Etienne for a fee of £27 million. However, the defender since spent three years on loan in France with a year each at St. Etienne, OGC Nice and Marseille. He put on some brilliant performances wherever he went, and has waited patiently for his chance in London. Saliba now has two years left on his current Arsenal deal, as Jacobs hints the youngster could pay heed to interest from his native country before penning a new deal at Emirates.
PSG could pursue the Arsenal man to convince Kylian Mbappe
William Saliba was reportedly considering a permanent move to France, with Marseille as well as a number of club interested in acquiring his services. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on the other hand different plans as he wanted the defender to rack up as many first-team appearances as possible across his loan spells. The Spaniard’s plan has worked perfectly, as Saliba is now pocketing Premier league attackers week-in-week-out.
Saliba has been a rock at the heart of Arsenal’s backline has seen them keep 3 clean-sheets and concede only 10 goals in 9 Premier League games, making them the league’s second best defense alongside Tottenham, Chelsea and West Ham. The defender also has contributed 2 goals and an assist across those nine outings, as Arsenal are more than happy with him and want to extend him for a long time. Jacobs meanwhile feels it will b a huge task for the Gunners, as he told Football Terrace’s YouTube channel:
“[William] Saliba’s [contract extension] is the most complicated of the three [along with Saka and Martinelli’s contracts] really. Arsenal sources fully expect all three to be done. With Saliba, it’s a little bit different. Compared to Martinelli and Saka, he’s only been back at the club a few months. He’s still coming to terms with a lot of voices in his ear. It’s not just Marseille, it’s PSG saying: ‘if you’re that uncertain or unsure about Arsenal, we can potentially bring you in’.
“PSG are definitely still looking for defenders. I see no reason he would want to leave but the only caveat there is he did love living in France. If PSG did come in, it might give him a decision to make. It is still highly likely Saliba signs [a new deal]. Arsenal have confidence but there is a lot more concrete interest around Saliba.”
PSG are on the hunt of a new center-back, after they missed out on Inter’s Milan Skriniar this summer. Moreover, the recruitment of a new center-back was also one of the promises they made to their star forward Kylian Mbappe, on the pretext of which he extended his stay at the club rejecting a move to Real Madrid. But he is reportedly furious with the club not keeping its promise and has even handed in a transfer request.
The Parisians now quickly want to make amends and sign a high-profile center-back in a bid to keep hold of Mbappe. Furthermore, their squad only has two relatively younger center-halves, Marquinhos [28] and Presnel Kimbempe [27] than Sergio Ramos [36] and Danilo [31] who are on the negative side of their 30s. As a result, Arsenal will need to wrap a new deal for Saliba as soon as possible, before the clubs from his country come calling for him.