William Saliba (Out)

[AberGooner]

I thought other clubs may have came in for him but now that he's seemingly secured a place in the France squad, I can see why he'd want to stay in Marseille and not disrupt anything in a World Cup year. A huge upcoming 6 months for him where he will want to be playing matches.

 

[field442]

He’s homegrown so I think there’d be decent interest in England. Not really sure how many teams in France be able to afford him. Probably only PSG. I could imagine Italian teams might be interested but again, most of them won’t want to spend the money to get him.

You can say he holds all the cards but if Marseille are only offering €30m and he wants to force himself there the club would be better off just keeping him. See if he decides to stick around after being with the squad for a year otherwise sell next summer. He’s good enough and young enough that you’d get that sort of fee for him with 12 months on his contract in any case.

 

[14Henry]

I thought other clubs may have came in for him but now that he's seemingly secured a place in the France squad, I can see why he'd want to stay in Marseille and not disrupt anything in a World Cup year. A huge upcoming 6 months for him where he will want to be playing matches.

Yeah to be honest he would be mad to risk moving anywhere else. He's comfortable in Marseille and that comfort is allowing him to play his best football.

Hes still young and can move on to bigger and better thing in 2 or 3 years which will suit both Marseille and him.

I just can't see him coming back in summer, signing a new deal and him saying I'm so glad to be back and show the club and fans what I'm about. Likewise I can't see Arteta saying he's a big part of the team this year.

 

[14Henry]

He’s homegrown so I think there’d be decent interest in England. Not really sure how many teams in France be able to afford him. Probably only PSG. I could imagine Italian teams might be interested but again, most of them won’t want to spend the money to get him.

You can say he holds all the cards but if Marseille are only offering €30m and he wants to force himself there the club would be better off just keeping him. See if he decides to stick around after being with the squad for a year otherwise sell next summer. He’s good enough and young enough that you’d get that sort of fee for him with 12 months on his contract in any case.

So we reject €30m which is what we paid for him. We keep a player who doesn't want to be at the club. If he plays poorly or it doesn't click here nobody will pay €30m. If he has a super season with us somehow with 1 year left on his deal he will have all the Real Madrids/Barca in his ear saying if we get you cheaper you and your agent will pocket a nice bonus. Again he can push for a move and say he only wants to go to X or Y or he will sit on his contract.

He may decide to re sign with us. But you run the risk of losing him for very little.

He does literally hold all the cards but that's on the club.

I'd be interest to know if he can speak English yet. He had 6 months to prepare the first time and couldn't string 2 words together. He's had about 3 years as an Arsenal player with an idea to come back to England to play. If he hasn't hired a teacher and improved a lot we can say he has no interest or intention of coming back.

 

[field442]

So we reject €30m which is what we paid for him. We keep a player who doesn't want to be at the club. If he plays poorly or it doesn't click here nobody will pay €30m. If he has a super season with us somehow with 1 year left on his deal he will have all the Real Madrids/Barca in his ear saying if we get you cheaper you and your agent will pocket a nice bonus. Again he can push for a move and say he only wants to go to X or Y or he will sit on his contract.

He does literally hold all the cards but that's on the club.

He doesn’t hold all the cards. He only holds the cards if the club care about recouping everything they paid for him. He’s under contract, if the club want to use him he can’t do ****. He’s not going to refuse to play.

We’re talking about a club that has regularly sold players under value or given them away for free but suddenly they HAVE to sell him this summer otherwise they don’t get their money back. They’ll sell him if they want to and if they want to keep him they will.

 

[14Henry]

He doesn’t hold all the cards. He only holds the cards if the club care about recouping everything they paid for him. He’s under contract, if the club want to use him he can’t do ****. He’s not going to refuse to play.

We’re talking about a club that has regularly sold players under value or given them away for free but suddenly they HAVE to sell him this summer otherwise they don’t get their money back. They’ll sell him if they want to and if they want to keep him they will.

It's not in the best interests of the club to keep a player who doesn't want to be here.

It is in the best interests of the club to get as much money for an asset as possible.

The whole we have to sell this summer is to stop repeating the very thing you have said. We have sold poorly. Let contracts run down and let players leave for free.

Had someone offered 30-40m for Özil 5 or 6 years ago you'd have bitten their hand off. We paid 50m for Laca and 60m for Auba and got nothing back. Here we have a situation where a player (Saliba) has expressed his desire NOT to play for the club. I dont see how all of a sudden he comes back he in summer happy and dying to fight for his place while his teammates in France are preparing for glamour ties against Real Madrid/Bayern etc in the CL.

Maybe I'm just pessimistic but if we don't sell him this summer and we mess about we risk not getting more than about €10m for him.

 

[field442]

It's not in the best interests of the club to keep a player who doesn't want to be here.

It is in the best interests of the club to get as much money for an asset as possible.

The whole we have to sell this summer is to stop repeating the very thing you have said. We have sold poorly. Let contracts run down and let players leave for free.

Had someone offered 30-40m for Özil 5 or 6 years ago you'd have bitten their hand off. We paid 50m for Laca and 60m for Auba and got nothing back. Here we have a situation where a player (Saliba) has expressed his desire NOT to play for the club. I dont see how all of a sudden he comes back he in summer happy and dying to fight for his place while his teammates in France are preparing for glamour ties against Real Madrid/Bayern etc in the CL.

Maybe I'm just pessimistic but if we don't sell him this summer and we mess about we risk not getting more than about €10m for him.

If they kept him and decided to sell him next summer they’d easily get offers of €20m, that’s why it’s not even worth considering selling him for €30m to Marseille this summer. You’re better off having a player of that quality in the squad, see where you’re at come the end of the season and then take it from there. He might have forced his way into the team, maybe helped us get top 4 or win something and maybe then he sees himself staying. If not then you sell him and take what you can and even if he hasn’t played loads he’s still one year removed from being the best young player in France and there’d be plenty of interest.

I don’t think the club would be against selling him this summer but I don’t think they’re going to get bent over doing it. Marseille either pay what he’s worth or he goes to a team that will/stays here.

 

[Macho]

Hopefully €30 mil gets it done and he doesn't come back here and tank his value.

Couldn't give a sh*t what money Arsenal get they will just spend it on Ben Whites or whatever Arteta buys they have planned, so it means nothing to me.

 

[14Henry]

If they kept him and decided to sell him next summer they’d easily get offers of €20m, that’s why it’s not even worth considering selling him for €30m to Marseille this summer. You’re better off having a player of that quality in the squad, see where you’re at come the end of the season and then take it from there. He might have forced his way into the team, maybe helped us get top 4 or win something and maybe then he sees himself staying. If not then you sell him and take what you can and even if he hasn’t played loads he’s still one year removed from being the best young player in France and there’d be plenty of interest.

You have your opinion and I have mine. No point going over it but if a player doesn't want to play for the club (which he has more or less said saying he wants to stay at Marseille) then you are on a hiding to nothing.

I hope it can be resolved in our favour and he stays here but think Arteta and The club ****ed up big style and the damage is done.

 

[Rex Stone]

Hopefully €30 mil gets it done and he doesn't come back here and tank his value.

Couldn't give a sh*t what money Arsenal get they will just spend it on Ben Whites or whatever Arteta buys they have planned, so it means nothing to me.

What’s wrong with Benny Blanco?

 

[Macho]

What’s wrong with Benny Blanco?

Nothing, just an example or an indulgent Arteta buy. I wouldn't have ousted Saliba for him mind.

Nothing we will do with the money will be exciting, so the forum haggling for maximum funds kinda makes me sick tbh.

 

[14Henry]

Nothing, just an example or an indulgent Arteta buy. I wouldn't have ousted Saliba for him mind.

Nothing we will do with the money will be exciting, so the forum haggling for maximum funds kinda makes me sick tbh.

Not as sick as we will feel later watching that ugly CNT Harry Kane and his wee band of merry wankers celebrating top 4. Just wish they had been playing a half decent team like Brighton or Palace away or something but that's on us for the **** show against them and toon

 

[Rex Stone]

Nothing, just an example or an indulgent Arteta buy. I wouldn't have ousted Saliba for him mind.

Nothing we will do with the money will be exciting, so the forum haggling for maximum funds kinda makes me sick tbh.

I’d rather have Benny than that Brazilian dosser next to him.

At least Ben is a shagger

 

[AberGooner]

Yeah to be honest he would be mad to risk moving anywhere else. He's comfortable in Marseille and that comfort is allowing him to play his best football.

Hes still young and can move on to bigger and better thing in 2 or 3 years which will suit both Marseille and him.

I just can't see him coming back in summer, signing a new deal and him saying I'm so glad to be back and show the club and fans what I'm about. Likewise I can't see Arteta saying he's a big part of the team this year.

I've never thought he'd come back tbh. We messed him about to much initially.

The club can give everyone the spiel about his "development" and all that but the fact is he's a 30m player who's not played a game for us three years into it. From his point of view he'd be mad to risk anything with France by coming back here to sit on the bench.

 

[14Henry]

I've never thought he'd come back tbh. We messed him about to much initially.

The club can give everyone the spiel about his "development" and all that but the fact is he's a 30m player who's not played a game for us three years into it. From his point of view he'd be mad to risk anything with France by coming back here to sit on the bench.

Yeah spot on. Its not like we are Man City or Liverpool either were the wait may have been worth it to come and win titles.

 

[Macho]

Not as sick as we will feel later watching that ugly CNT Harry Kane and his wee band of merry wankers celebrating top 4.

They will probably bottle it which will make it sweeter somewhat.

 

[ArsenalInMyHeart]

If he doesn't want to come back, ok fine £50m+

 

[14Henry]

If he doesn't want to come back, ok fine £50m+

50m lol. There's not a club in world football signing him for 50m. Not even Newcastle.

 

[Wrighty4eva]

Arteta will let him go for 50p and a 12 pack of cones.

 

[Tom349]

If they kept him and decided to sell him next summer they’d easily get offers of €20m, that’s why it’s not even worth considering selling him for €30m to Marseille this summer. You’re better off having a player of that quality in the squad, see where you’re at come the end of the season and then take it from there. He might have forced his way into the team, maybe helped us get top 4 or win something and maybe then he sees himself staying. If not then you sell him and take what you can and even if he hasn’t played loads he’s still one year removed from being the best young player in France and there’d be plenty of interest.

I don’t think the club would be against selling him this summer but I don’t think they’re going to get bent over doing it. Marseille either pay what he’s worth or he goes to a team that will/stays here.

At least someone on here understands the situation.

Saliba has very little power here. We could hold him to his contract for the next two years if we wanted without him playing a game and the cost of that would be less than someone of the deals we have made in the past such as Pepe for 72m. Sure it's less than ideal if that were to eventuate but the point is if we want Saliba to stay we can make him.

No one knows what will happen in the next 12 months. Saliba could stay and be the first picked defender and sign a massive contract extension, he could stay as back up and sign a contract extension, he could sulk and end up playing in the u23's and yet still be worth the exact same amount as what Marsielle could likely afford to pay for him right now. Whichever situation unfolds in the next 12 months isn't likely to affect Arsenal, it will however greatly effect Saliba if he wants to play in the world cup so he can't go making any demands.

Arsenal won't send him on loan again without him signing a contract extension so in the event he is desperate to stay at Marseille he will need to sign an extension with us which is good news. If Marseille want to buy him outright then they will have to offer at least 40m before we pick up the phone which at least we would be making a profit. If a team like Newcastle or PSG decided they wanted him then we can name our price. There isn't really an outcome that hurts Arsenal at this point in time.

The ideal situation is he comes back and forces his way into the team, improves the team and collectively the team improves and closer the gap on City and Liverpool. From there the outlook is completely different and signing a new contract becomes more likely. If he doesn't then he has 12 months left on his contract and at that point can either let it run down and get a massive signing on bonus at club like PSG or we can likely still sell him 40m depending on how well he has performed. In this situation he quickly forgets that Marseille exist.