Arsenal could reportedly be set to hold talks over William Saliba’s future in the coming weeks, with the player described as being in a strong negotiating position by Goal.
The 21-year-old has shone on loan at Marseille this season, having previously struggled for playing time at the Emirates Stadium, despite for so long being considered an exciting young talent.
Saliba was recently quoted by the Daily Express as hinting that he’d be happy to stay at Marseille permanently, though the Ligue 1 side don’t have any option in their loan deal to trigger a permanent transfer.
“I’ve never hidden the fact that I feel good here,” he said. “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.”
As noted by Goal, however, Saliba has just two years to run on his Arsenal contract, so they could be under pressure to listen to offers for him soon if he isn’t keen to stay with the Gunners.
Arsenal fans will surely be hoping the club don’t let this promising young talent slip away, though Mikel Arteta has other decent options in the form of Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes in defence.