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.