Liverpool may reportedly have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of the transfer of Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka.
The England international was recently linked as a target for the Reds by ESPN, and there’s no doubt he’s an exciting attacking talent who could fit in well at Anfield.
Still, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta now says the club plan to hold talks over a new contract for Saka, with his current deal due to expire in 2023.
“It is a conversation we are going to have with the player, then his agent, his family — [talks] which are going to be extremely important as well — so everybody is on board,” Arteta is quoted by the Evening Standard.
“Obviously, our desire is to keep Bukayo as long as possible, because we are really happy. He is part of our club, our DNA, he is growing, he is maturing.
“His importance in the team is unquestionable and we want to keep our best talent, that’s for sure.”
This could be a worry for Liverpool’s hopes of landing the 20-year-old, though of course we don’t know yet how these talks between the player and Arsenal will progress.
Saka is one of the Arsenal academy’s biggest success stories, and Arteta will no doubt hope to have him at the club for as long as possible.
Liverpool could do with new attacking players, however, as Sadio Mane is not getting any younger, while Mohamed Salah is another big name whose current contract comes to an end in 2023.