On Thursday, a rumour appeared in the German media claiming that Bayer Leverkusen were interested in William Saliba.
The Bundesliga side have made a habit of targeting young players to bolster their team, and while there might be a desire to sign the Arsenal defender, it seemed he was a tad too expensive, with it claimed the Gunners wanted around €30m.
Spending the season at OGC Nice after it was made clear Mikel Arteta didn’t really trust him yet, the Frenchman enjoyed a good season in the south of France, to the point where the Ligue 1 side want to keep him.
This isn’t just a rumour, as the club’s president has said as much in an interview with Nice-Matin on Friday, where he was asked if Saliba and Jean-Clair Todibo (currently loaned from Barcelona) would be at the club next season.
He said: “William, if we could extend the loan by a year, we would do so gladly, but he belongs to Arsenal. It’s not in our hands. For Todibo, however, it is. It will be up to the next manager”.
That man could very well be Christophe Galtier, who has made it clear he would be leaving Lille after lifting the Ligue 1 title at the weekend.
Either way, the desire to keep the Arsenal defender is there, and it will be entirely up to the Gunners to decide what happens.
Will Arteta feel Saliba is now ready for the Premier League? That will be key.
