On Monday, CaughtOffside reported that Arsenal defender William Saliba is on the radar of Real Madrid, PSG, and Bayern Munich. While a departure might not be imminent, it could be in the future.
Even though it’s unlikely the Gunners will let Saliba go, especially with his contract running until 2027, they’d only entertain offers starting at €120 million or higher.
While it’s unlikely that the Premier League side will sell the Frenchman next summer, one expert believes that don’t expect Saliba to spend the rest of his career with the London-based club.
“I’ll be perfectly honest and admit that I don’t see Saliba being a one club man,” Charles Watts said in his Daily Briefing column for CaughtOffside. “He’s not come through the ranks at Arsenal. He may have followed them as a boy in France, but he doesn’t have an undying loyalty towards them. So I’m sure at some point he will want to try something new and when that time comes he will no doubt have the pick of which top club to join.
“But Saliba is still just 23 and Arsenal have to make sure they have him for a fair while yet. Yes, he still has three years left on his deal, but his performances and growing stature within the game will dictate the need for improving those terms pretty soon.”
From PSG’s perspective, Saliba’s past with Marseille could make things interesting. Given his history with OM as a player, it’ll be worth watching to see if they revisit that connection, especially after Christophe Galtier’s coaching stint didn’t go as planned.
Nonetheless, the Parisians could overlook Saliba playing for Marseille if manager Luis Enrique believes he’s a player who can be a building block for his defense.