Arsenal are set to sign William Saliba from St. Etienne in a £26.5m deal, according to reports.

Goal are the latest outlet to report that Arsenal have agreed a fee with St. Etienne for the centre-back. Charles Watts reports the Gunners will pay around £26.5m for the transfer, and he’ll now travel to England to sign his long-term contract (five years as per the Guardian).

Saliba will then return to France to spend the 2019/20 season on loan with St. Etienne, a necessary condition to complete the deal.

According to other reports in the English media, Arsenal are trying to structure their payment in such a way that they don’t hand over all the money upfront. After all, they aren’t receiving the player until next summer, and have other targets for the current window.

Saliba started last season in the St. Etienne youth team, but it wasn’t long before he made his senior debut in a win over Toulouse in September.

The centre-back became a regular in the squad and ended up making 19 appearances (16 starts). In his last 11 Ligue 1 matches, St. Etienne only conceded four goals, keeping eight clean sheets.

The 6’4″ 18-year-old has tackling, concentration, ball interception and blocking the ball listed as his strengths on WhoScored. Ironically, his one listed weakness is aerial duels, despite his height, though he still wins around 60% of them.

Another year to work on that side of his game and continue to improve in the areas where he’s already strong would leave Arsenal with a very talented prospect on their hands.