William Saliba is Real Madrid’s priority defensive signing for the upcoming transfer windows, but Arsenal are unlikely to open the door for a sale.
Fabrice Hawkins reports for French outlet RMC Sport that one of Real Madrid’s targets for the summer window is to sign a defender, and William Saliba is the club’s “absolute priority”.
Hawkins adds that Arsenal will probably not open the door to Saliba’s departure, given the Gunners consider the defender the best centre-back in the world.
Arsenal are likely to put a price tag on Saliba that even Real Madrid would consider too high to prevent the move from occurring, hypothetically making the French international the most expensive defender in history.
Saliba still has a contract with Arsenal until 2027, so if the club really are desperate to keep the 23-year-old around, they have almost two-and-a-half years to convince him to sign an extension.
The former Saint-Etienne defender has played 33 times for Arsenal this season, scoring a couple of goals and helping the team to second in the Premier League and third in the new League Phase of the Champions League.
Saliba has been a big part of Arsenal’s improvement over the last few seasons, but the feeling around the club is that this should just be the start of his story.
The fans certainly want to see Saliba pushing on with Arsenal and winning the biggest trophies over the next decade, not winding up his spell in north London to move elsewhere this summer.
Perhaps that decision will be made in part by what Arsenal do on the pitch between now and May, and how the club then invest in the squad this summer.