Having already acquired William Saliba from AS Saint-Étienne, rumour had it Arsenal were considering once again returning to the Ligue 1 club to bolster their squad, this time with Wesley Fofana.
The young defender has been the latest youngster to break through in the French side’s first-team, and his mature performances have attracted interest, with both the Gunners and Everton reportedly interested.
There was even a worry that Saint-Étienne might be forced to sell because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
According to But! Football Club, the Ligue 1 club have done all their accounting and worked out they only really need to sell for between €10-15m this summer to meet the required criteria.
With Franck Honorat going to Brest for €5m, that leaves them with a very small hill to climb, which could also see them keep their star players like the youngster and Denis Bouanga.
Since Saliba will be heading to Arsenal this summer, Claude Puel has been wanting to keep Fofana around if possible, which is now a distinct possibility.
That doesn’t mean Arsenal and Everton have given up, however, as the French website explain the Premier League pair are ‘still following’ the situation, but won’t be facing competition from Milan any longer.
If Saint-Étienne don’t have to sell, then the barricades will be up around Fofana, and it’ll be up to the likes of Edu Gaspar at the Emirates and Marcel Brands at Goodison Park to try and convince them otherwise.
