French outlet RMC Sport today managed to have a long and very interesting interview with Marseille president Pablo Longoria.
There was a very direct conversation regarding the moves the club should make in the transfer window, especially regarding specific issues which have been on the table.
One of them is the potential signing of William Saliba. Following his positive loan spell from Arsenal, the French media has been wondering if Marseille will be able to buy him.
So the first question was if there are any open talks with the Gunners for the move right now.
“We had a lot of conversations analysing William Saliba’s season, especially in the last few days. He’s coming off an extraordinary season, with one of the highest number of matches played in Europe. He also joined the France team, which is incredible at his age. We discussed a lot internally about what we can do, to find out what the possibilities are,” Longoria told RMC Sports.
“We respect his club, we have to thank Arsenal. It’s a friendly club that helped us a lot during the last transfer window. We have very good relations. We have to talk to each other, see if there is the possibility of reaching an agreement between the clubs, there is the player’s will, the club’s will… But above all, we must respect Arsenal.”
Then RMC Sport wanted to know if Marseille would be able to offer €30m for the player.
“I’m not talking about numbers or prices. There are different strategies, different ways of entering into transactions. Above all, you have to come to an agreement if there are possibilities of being able to move forward. In France, I realise that we talk a lot about transfer prices. The operations are much more complicated than just talking about a fixed transfer price. Because it’s not the same as paying 60 million euros in cash or 60 million euros in six or seven years.”
As Marseille now try to find a solution to convince Arsenal, it seems they’ll have a hard task, since Gunners’ manager Mikel Arteta recently claimed the defender ‘needs’ to be back in the squad this summer. Following the experience the player gained in France, it may be time for him to prove himself in London.
