Arsenal FC defender William Saliba was reportedly open to leaving the club for a transfer to Marseille this summer.
Former Marseille boss Jorge Sampaoli, who has been officially announced as the new Sevilla manager today, ended up leaving the Ligue 1 side in the summer as he was so frustrated with the club for failing to show more ambition and sign Saliba.
The France international spent last season on loan at Marseille and impressed a great deal, but he’s now back at Arsenal and becoming an increasingly important part of Mikel Arteta’s side.
It looks like the Saliba deal was one of the key reasons for Sampaoli deciding to quit Marseille, according to journalist Ben Jacobs in the Twitter thread below…
“Sampaoli was unhappy with the club’s ambition and felt they should have done more to try and sign William Saliba,” Jacobs wrote.
“Always a tall order, as has now become apparent, but Saliba initially open to it prior to speaking in detail with Mikel Arteta.
“Sampaoli felt there as a window of opportunity which OM ignored. It wasn’t his only gripe, just one example of a difference of opinion and approach.”
Saliba is showing himself to be one of the most outstanding young talents in Europe at the moment, and Gunners fans will be delighted that he ended up staying at the Emirates Stadium.
It’s easy to understand why Sampaoli would have been annoyed at this, however, as it’s clear what kind of an impact the 21-year-old could have made for Marseille.