Real Madrid have emerged as a genuine threat to snatch Arsenal centre-back William Saliba, and when the transfer would take place has been revealed after two separate sources provided updates.
Questions were repeatedly asked after Arsenal took three years before handing William Saliba his senior debut for the club.
The French centre-back was originally brought to north London in the summer of 2019. A package worth roughly £27m was agreed with Saint-Etienne – a sizeable fee for a teenager.
However, the Gunners elected to loan Saliba back to Ligue 1 on three separate occasions rather than fastrack the defender into their first-team plans.
Arsenal’s cautious approach has since proven a masterstroke, with Saliba named Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year during his loan spell with Marseille in the 2021/22 campaign.
His exploits that season prompted Arsenal to determine he was finally ready to cement his place in Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven for the 2022/23 campaign and beyond.
Saliba has not looked back since and two years on and aged just 23, he is widely regarded as one of world football’s premier centre-halves.
