William Saliba’s agent was at London Colney on Monday, amid rumours the defender might be signing a new deal.

Arsenal centre-back William Saliba returned to London Colney for his first pre-season training session with the club on Monday, but he wasn’t the only one in attendance.

The player’s agent Djibril Niang posted on Instagram to confirm that he had accompanied his client to the training ground.

Notably, Niang appeared to be in one of the rooms where Arsenal often film and photograph their contract announcements.

Rumours on social media suggest Saliba is indeed signing a new deal, though this remains unconfirmed by any reliable reporters at this stage.

Chris Wheatley did report in June that Arsenal’s contract talks with Saliba were moving in a positive direction, adding that the player will stay with Arsenal this season.

There haven’t been any major updates since then, but Saliba’s agent’s presence at London Colney is certainly a good sign. At the very least, it suggests he’s holding talks with the club.

“He has to come back,” Arteta said of Saliba in May. “He has the experience and the necessary environment to be competitive with us.

“If he had stayed with us this year, with one Premier League game a week and with Ben White and Gabriel, he wouldn’t have had half the game time he had with Marseille, that’s for sure.

“In terms of his growth and what he could do next year, it wouldn’t have been good. William wasn’t with us because he wouldn’t have had the playing time required to gain experience. That’s it, nothing else.”

Saliba made 51 appearances for Marseille last season, winning the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award and becoming a France international.