Arsenal signed William Saliba last summer but he will arrive ahead of the new season as an actual new player and he isn’t coming cheap.

Saliba will finally pull on an Arsenal shirt for the 2020/21 season after spending his first year as a Gunner on loan with Saint-Etienne when we really could have done with another competent centreback at the club.

Saliba’s transfer fee was £27m, a hefty one for a player who was still only 18 at the time. But, as we saw as we tracked him all season in France with reports direct from a Saint-Etienne supporter, he seems worth every penny.

According to Football Insider, his wages will be £40kpw, and you can see how that stacks up against others at the club here.

Given that he has signed a five-year deal, that works out at £10.4m in wages.

If things go as hoped, he will no doubt see his salary increased within a few seasons as we try to keep him at the club and away from the likes of Real Madrid who have already been sniffing around.

As things stand, Saliba will return to the club on June 30th, although he will not be able to play for Arsenal this season. Speaking during the week, however, Claude Puel was hopeful of keeping the 19-year-old for one more match in July.

GFFN stated that, according to three sources familiar with the matter, Saliba would like to play that game given that it is the Coupe de France final.

The problem is that Arsenal will have to pay another €2.5m in bonuses if the defender makes another start for the Ligue 1 side.

For more information on the agreement between Premier League clubs that is stopping Saliba playing for Arsenal this season, read this post.