According to reports, Arsenal defender William Saliba has no intention of extending his contract beyond 2024.
According to Mohamed Toubache-Ter, as quoted by Get French Football News, Arsenal defender Saliba has not extended his contract with the Gunners and has no intention of doing so.
The 21-year-old’s current deal runs until 2024 after the youngster signed for Arsenal in 2019 for £27m (Transfermarkt).
However, questions have been raised over the future of the young defender after he failed to make a single league appearance before being sent out on a series of loans.
During the 2021/22 campaign, the French international joined Marseille on a season-long loan which saw the defender awarded the Young Player of the Season award following the French club’s success in qualifying for the Champions League.
Saliba has since returned to his parent club for pre-season, but the 21-year-old is rumoured to want a return to France, as Graeme Bailey explains when speaking on the Talking Transfer Podcast (as quoted by HITC):
“I could see him signing a new contract and then going out on loan to Marseille again. They have Champions League football to offer, he’s broken into the French squad while playing there.”
“I understand he is persuading Arsenal ‘let me go to Marseille for one more season and then I’ll come back to north London to compete’.”
“The last thing Saliba wants is to sit on the bench, he can’t just sit on that bench for six months, the World Cup is coming around very quickly here, so it’s a massive few weeks for his future,” Bailey said.
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According to Toubache-Ter, any move to bring Saliba back to Marseille will be done in the final week of August and depends on Saliba’s game time during the opening weeks of the Premier League.
With the Qatar World Cup just around the corner, the young France international is prioritising game time to ensure his position in France’s squad.
If Mikel Arteta fails to give Saliba the game time he hopes for, then a move away from the Gunners, whether that’s permanent or another loan spell, will be the best outcome for the Frenchman.
constant drivel from France
They want to sell him behind Arsenal
Completely contradictory to other reports that I’ve seen. And he looked quite happy on the plane on his way to the states with the rest of the squad – he’s probably already been given assurances of playing time, what with UEL games on their way. Reporter being slipped a backhander by l’OM, perhaps?
Lets just get this straight Saliba is an Arsenal player for 2 more years regardless what Marsille etc have to say… 27 million Sterling for a then 18yr old was alot of Money. Arsenal knew he needed more experience before putting him in the team especially as the premier league is far far far harder than the french league.. Now Saliba has had the games to gain the experience, Arteta now thinks its time where he can offer the guy lots of game time and get some valuable experience of English football . He as in Arteta has now made room for Saliba. which is not only good for Saiba but good for the club as a whole and the fans will now see him week in week out in the colours of Arsenal either starting in the Premier league week in week out or the Europa and he has game time in the FA cup etc !! Marsille need to gain some morals and respect as a football club and appreciate that Arsenal lent them their player in good faith. Marsille should act with respect to the club manager and player himself ! Marsille simply do not have any say in what Saliba or Arsenal do with Saliba !! and i thought it was illegal to tap up players that are owned by other clubs !! now Marsille will come up against alot of negativity aimed towards them as a club now by Arsenal football club.Therefore i think Marsille actions towards the player and towards Arsenal have indeed been low and bordering disgusting. It has and will cause problems with regards to their wanting of Tavares on loan for this season. As Arsenal will not want to same repeat from the Saliba loan ! so personally i think Marsille have now stuffed their chances of loaning another Arsenal player !! well thats life !!
Marsille need to grow some morals and respect!! their actions towards a player that is not even theirs has been low and bordering disgusting ! they have now made it impossible for Arsenal to loan a player to MARSILLE ever again !! and other clubs will have watch Marsilles actions and now saying errr i dont think we will loan to MARSILLE either ! Saliba is an Arsenal player and Marsille have not respected that and i hope now that suffer because of it !! no more loanees to MARSILLE !!
haha haha haha yawn yawn haha haha 😂
Make him sign a contract extension for a minimum of 3 years. Otherwise tell him he will have to sit on the bench for the next 2 years.
More BS and propaganda coming from the jaded frogs! Give it up its getting old.
Not really sure how William Saliba not signing a new contract is Marseilles’ fault or reflects on the club’s ‘morals.’
From Saliba’s perspective, signing a new deal would have to be contingent on playing time. If he doesn’t play regularly in the league, he won’t play for France in Qatar and all the good work he did last season will be forgotten.
The duo of Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes did not perform as well as Holding and Luiz did the previous season, but they none-the-less played the vast majority of minutes in 21/22 and seem locked in as the Premier League starters for 22/23.
Given those realities, the player’s ambitions to be in the French World Cup side, and Saliba’s outstanding performances for Marseilles, he probably feels he deserves to play regularly in the league, not just in the odd cup match. Whether that is hubris or not, Saliba would have to be an idiot to sign a new contract unless he is a frequent first XI player. A good agent would defer a decision on a new contract until the January window. By then Saliba will either be a regular starter or not, and if he isn’t, he doesn’t sign, waits out the final year of his contract and signs a pre-contract with another team (Marseilles?) the following January; making him the umpteenth Arsenal player to leave on a free in the last three seasons.
Arteta has not had the best relationship with Saliba, though he has not made any more stupid comments like his previous gaffe: ‘he will have to earn his place’ which is coach-speak for ‘shut up and have a seat on the bench.
Marseilles made it plain they would love to have Saliba back; there is nothing immoral about that. Saliba just had the best season of his career for them was named young French player of the year wearing Marseilles’ badge, and helped take his loan club to the Champions League.
Clubs often say similar things; West Ham said the same about Jesse Lingard, then Man U screwed the English midfielder by refusing to sell him and sidelining him most of the season. Saliba may be looking at that situation as an object lesson; Lingard went from being the talk of the town to forgotten in asix months.
Newcastle said they wanted to sign Joe Willock after his terrific loan spell and they did. Arteta was delighted to finally sell a player for something like his actual worth. Eddie Howe was effusive in his praise of Matt Targett after his loan with Newcastle, and the Toon signed him permanently this summer. Arsena were happy enough to let Mateo Geundouzi (Marseilles) and Konstantinos Mavropanos (Stutgart) go to their loan clubs after those clubs said plainly they hoped to sign the two men permanently.
This situation is one Arsenal created; whether deliberately or by accident. Regardless of the reason, a player they signed for 27 million is into his third season with the club and has yet to play a competitive minute. That is a situation which is always going to invite speculation, especially when, like Saliba has, the player performs like a star on loan.
Saliba now has only two years left on his contract and looks destined for stardom. Arsenal are in a tough spot. They have a top young player who wants play and has made a strong case that he should be playing, a settled center back pairing the manager likes, and growing pressure on the club to claw their way back into the Champions League.
Letting Aubameyang walk probably cost Arsenal Champions League football. Imagine is Saliba leaves and becomes the next Ruben Diaz or Aymeric Laporte playing Champions league football every year while the Gunners languish in the Europea League (or worse).
The Medias always bring trouble to the table