Arsenal youngster William Saliba has dropped a worrying hint over his future as he has strongly suggested he’d be happy to stay at Marseille permanently.
The 20-year-old has impressed in his time in Ligue 1, looking like one of the most exciting young talents in Europe, and like someone who could surely have an impact in Mikel Arteta’s squad if he were to return to the Emirates Stadium next term.
Arsenal already have Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes at centre-back, but Saliba seems like the kind of talent who’d be worth having around after the success of his loan spell at Marseille.
The Frenchman now seems to be open to staying at Marseille, though, in what could be worrying news for Arsenal fans who will be hoping he can come back to north London.
Speaking to RMC, as translated by the Daily Express, Saliba said: “I’ve never hidden the fact that I feel good here. I don’t know what my future holds, there’s still two months to go. The most important thing is to qualify for the Champions League and go as far as possible in the Conference League.
“I think discussions will take place afterwards, at the end of May to early June, between Arsenal and Marseille – we’ll decide at that point.
“But staying on here would definitely not be a bad idea, on the contrary, I know the city, my teammates, my manager. But it doesn’t depend on me.”
If Saliba does end up making his transfer to Marseille permanent, one imagines Arsenal fans won’t be too happy that Arteta failed to find a first-team role for him earlier.
There’s every chance Saliba could end up like Serge Gnabry – a player rejected at AFC as a youngster before going on to bounce back and have a great career elsewhere.