The William Saliba situation continues to drag on, and Tottenham have been pulled further into the tussle for the 18 year old.
Tuesday’s edition of L’Equipe reports Arsenal remain ‘favourite’ to complete the signing, but face some competition from their neighbours.
It’s reiterated that last week the Gunners reached an agreement on a long term contract with the young defender. Now they need to agree a fee with Saint-Etienne before a competitor swoops in and beats them to it, which could be why their local rivals are being linked… to add some pressure.
L’Equipe say Saliba looks very well at a move to Unai Emery’s club, he likes the project and right now joining Arsenal is his preference.
The French newspaper put a potential transfer fee at €25-30m and once again say the defender would be expected to remain on loan at his current club for a season.
Arsenal have a very tight budget this summer, and spending something like €30m on a player they won’t have for a year doesn’t feel the likeliest of scenarios.
It’s possible they could stage the payments and balance it towards handing over money when they actually have the youngster, but earlier reports have claimed ASSE want the money now to fund their own summer signings.
Perhaps the budget isn’t quite as restricted as previously thought… or Arsenal want Saliba in London immediately and will drop that transfer bomb on ASSE soon.
