Arsenal have hatched a plan to stop William Saliba from leaving for Real Madrid, with a report revealing how much the Gunners are willing to pay the central defender, as Los Blancos are said to be willing to offer £115.5million for a Germany international star.
Saliba has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League and is one of the first names on the Arsenal teamsheet. One of the major reasons why the Gunners have become regular challengers for the league title is because of the France international’s formidable partnership with Gabriel at the heart of Mikel Arteta’s team.
With Eder Militao and David Alaba having injury problems and Antonio Rudiger in his 30s, Madrid are on the hunt for a new centre-back and have identified Saliba as “an absolute priority”.
There have been reports that Madrid have already been in contact with Saliba’s entourage and are willing to pay a world-record transfer fee for a defender.
According to TBR, Arsenal have now responded to Madrid’s interest in Saliba by planning to open talks with the 23-year-old centre-back over a new deal.
The Gunners, who are aiming to beat Liverpool to the Premier League title this season, are ready to reward Saliba “with a significant pay increase and put him close to £250,000-a-week”.
The report has noted that such a pay-hike would see Saliba put “in the same category as the likes of Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and the club’s highest paid player Kai Havertz”.
Arsenal are reportedly confident that Saliba can be convinced to sign a new deal and turn down the chance to move to Los Blancos.
The Gunners’ plan is to open talks with the defender in the coming months with a view to getting the paperwork sorted before the start of next season.
Saliba has made a total of 90 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. The defender has scored six goals, given two assists and kept 39 clean sheets in those games.
