Arsenal have completed the signing of 18-year-old centreback, William Saliba but the player will spend the new season on loan with St Etienne. Raul Sanllehi explains why.
With Arsenal in desperate need of competent (and fit) defenders, the choice to buy a player then send him out on loan seems odd, especially when you consider he’s not cheap at €25m.
But Arsenal aren’t paying all of that upfront and, as such, have accommodated St Etienne’s desire to keep the player for another season because it means Arsenal have 12 more months to save up some cash.
Of course, that’s not the reason Arsenal are giving…
“Saliba was different, part of the deal is for him to be on loan for one year with his club,” Sanllehi said recently.
“We are pleased about that because the level of intensity and the level of demand in the Premier League is very strong.
“He’s probably too young for that yet, as I said, we need to protect our young talent. We think it will be good for him to be in a less demanding league to continue his formative period, so we’ll have a top defender for a decade.
“He saw for his career path, the perfect solution for him.”
Not having to pay the full amount for him now, of course, allows Arsenal to invest money in other areas of the squad and as the old adage goes – if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
Still, we could do with a defender or two for this season…