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Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United are interested in signing William Saliba from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to reports…
THE LOWDOWN: IMPRESSIVE CAMPAIGN
The 21-year-old has been a first-team regular during his loan spell with Ligue 1 outfit Marseille this season, making 51 appearances across all competitions, and helping them to a superb second-placed finish in the French top flight.
Saliba, however, is yet to make a senior appearance for the Gunners since his £30m move from Saint-Etienne in 2019 and his future at the Emirates Stadium remains uncertain.
The former Saint-Etienne man has enjoyed an impressive campaign, playing the full 90 minutes in 36 of their 37 league games so far with the club sealing Champions League qualification.
Mikel Arteta recently expressed his intention of keeping the defender at the club next season, but that has not deterred potential suitors of declaring an interest in the talented player.
THE LATEST: SOUGHT INFORMATION
According to L’Equipe, Newcastle, Atletico Madrid, Leicester City and Napoli all have reportedly sought information about the French centre-back from the Gunners.
Marseille still remain incredibly interested in keeping him for another campaign at the Stade Veladrome.
L’Equipe also suggests that Arteta wants to hold onto Saliba. And Arsenal plan to offer him a new contract.
THE VERDICT: KEEP AT ALL COSTS
As things stand, it appears that Saliba will be playing for Arsenal next season though, much can change over the coming weeks and months.
However, considering his remarkable ability and potential to become one of Europe’s leading centre-backs, the Gunners must keep the centre-back at all costs this summer.
The Frenchman could well become one of the leading Arsenal centre-backs for years to come if provided with the opportunities.
The French colossus, dubbed “extraordinary” by his teammate and former Gunners midfielder Matteo Guendouzi and a “future great” by Marseille boss Jorge Sampaoli, has enjoyed a superb campaign at the Stade Veladrome picking up an impressive average score rating of 7.06 from SofaScore, becoming the fourth-best ranked player in the Marseille side.
Recording the eighth-most passes into the final third (184) amongst all Ligue 1 players, the fifth-most progressive carries (243) and the most touches of any player (3351), Saliba has showcased that he is not afraid to dictate proceedings from deep.
With Arteta hoping to evolve his side’s game next season, possessing the abilities of the £21.6m-rated rock could certainly provide more variation and quality to the Spaniard’s game-plans in abundance.
AND in other news, “Arsenal were really close” – Journalist claims Arteta nearly signed “explosive” 8-assist wing-wizard…
