Arsenal want at least €30 million to sell 21-year-old this summer: Reports
Arsenal are reportedly wanting €30 million for defender William Saliba, amid rumors that a host of clubs are chasing the 21-year-old this summer.
Despite signing for the Gunners in 2019, the France international is yet to make an appearance for the senior side. He spent the past three seasons on loan at Saint Etienne, Nice and Olympique de Marseille.
The defender enjoyed an extremely successful campaign last time out at Marseille. He played 53 times in all comeptitions as they finished second in Ligue 1 and reached the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
Arteta on William Saliba:
“He has to come back. He has the experience and the environment to be competitive with us.” 🇫🇷 https://t.co/SBqYJgeSBi
According to RMC Sport, as per Le10Sport, Marseille's president Pablo Longoria has hopes of keeping Saliba. However, it won't be easy to keep the Arsenal youngster. The report claims that the north London club will ask for around €30 million for Saliba.
However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta may find it tough to keep the Frenchman happy with playing time. Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes are the clear first-choice centre-half partnership at the Emirates.
Saliba was awarded Ligue 1 'Young Player of the Year' due to his impressive performances across the campaign. Meanwhile, L'Equipe reports (via Get French Football News) that several teams across Europe, including Leicester City, Newcastle United, Atletico Madrid and Napoli are interested in signing him.
Having only made his French debut in March 2022, Saliba is determined to play first-team football next season. He will look to force his way into Didier Deschamps' squad for the Qatar World Cup later this year.
| QUICK STAT
⚠️ | QUICK STAT
Players aged 21 or younger with the most minutes in the top 5 leagues in 2021/22:
🇫🇷 William Saliba – 3240'
🏴 Marc Guéhi – 3223'
🏴 Bukayo Saka – 2991'
🇫🇷 Joris Chotard – 2942'
🏴 Aaron Hickey – 2834'
Two Arsenal players and a reported Gunners' target. 🔴⚪️ https://t.co/y40U7hT3RM
Arsenal defender William Saliba declares he wants to stay at Marseille next season
The centre-half last week declared he would like to stay at the Stade Velodrome for another season to play Champions League football. He will not be able to get at the Emirates Stadium after the Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League table.
Saliba still has two years left on his current Arsenal deal, but speaking to Pro Direct Soccer France (as per The Mirror), he explained:
“I want to come back and play the Champions League. I have never played in it and I want to discover it here. I didn’t play, I played with the under-23s. I still went to the Premier League and it’s an experience that taught me a lot, and I came out of it bigger and much stronger."
He added:
"It was shocking at first. You say to yourself, ‘a £30million transfer all that, people were waiting for you to come’ and then you find yourself in the reserves against players your age. It shocked me at first, I didn’t even want to play. When they buy you for £30million and drop you in the reserves, it hurts."
Aurélien Tchouaméni & William Saliba 💎🇫🇷 https://t.co/PXj7t1iLtx