St Etienne’s Ligue 1 starlet William Saliba is reportedly heading to the Premier League – but with Arsenal rather than Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal have fought off late competition from rivals Tottenham Hotspur and are now set to compete the £22.5 million signing of William Saliba, according to the ESPN – a report that should have Gunners fans everywhere breathing a sigh of relief.
Unai Emery’s side endured a miserable end to the 2018/19 season, throwing away their top four place before collapsing in the Europa League final defeat to Chelsea.
And, to make matters worse, Arsenal are apparently now at risk of losing the likes of Lucas Torreira and Alexandre Lacazette with no Champions League football on the horizon for the third straight season.
Yet Arsenal supporters can at least take some comfort in claims that they are set to beat Spurs to one of the most highly-rated young defenders in world football.
18-year-old Saliba has exploded onto the scene in France and L’Equipe sensationally claimed on Tuesday that none other than Tottenham had made an eleventh hour attempt to snap up the teenager from under Arsenal’s nose.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side appear to have left it too late, however.
ESPN claims that Saliba’s move to Arsenal is all but done, though the ball-playing defender will spend next season back on loan at St Etienne.
Given that money is so tight at Arsenal, fans may be questioning the decision to spend £22.5 million on an 18-year-old who won’t make his Gunners debut until 2020 at the earliest. But, on the contrary, this should highlight just how talented Saliba is and how desperate Arsenal were not to miss out.
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