Fabrizio Romano says William Saliba was approached by rivals this summer

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Fabrizio Romano has said Olympique Marseille held a meeting with William Saliba’s agent about potentially signing the Arsenal defender, though the Gunners shot down any attempts for the centre-back.

Speaking to Caught Offside, the transfer guru revealed that the French club made an approach to sign the 21-year-old this summer after Saliba exploded onto the scene with Marseille last season. The youngster joined the club in 2021 on loan, where the defender became an integral part of Jorge Sampaoli’s side.

Saliba earnt his first senior France cap whilst with Marseille on loan as well as winning the Ligue 1 Rookie of the Year award, with the defender now starring for Arsenal in the Premier League where the centre-back has become a huge fixture in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.

The defender was excellent in the Gunners’ 3-1 win against Tottenham over the weekend, and there is pressure from Arsenal fans to sign Saliba down to a new contract in order to wave off interest from rival clubs, such as Marseille, who seemingly had confidence they could bring the youngster back to France.

Indeed, with two years left on his contract, Arsenal will have to work fast if they’re to sign Saliba down to a new contract, and according to Romano, Marseille held a meeting with the player’s agent over a potential signing in the summer transfer

Romano said when asked about summer interest in Saliba this year: “Olympique Marseille had a direct meeting with Saliba’s agent in August, but then it was impossible to negotiate on the fee with Arsenal as they considered William untouchable. It was not even a direct talk.”

Arsenal were right to reject Marseille’s advances to sign William Saliba

It’s rare to see a player make such an impact for a club in their debut season, much less a 21-year-old, yet that’s the situation Saliba has found himself in for Arsenal as the defender is now, arguably, the most important defender in Arteta’s entire squad.

The Gunners stuck by their plan for the youngster and have been paid in a huge way, and Arsenal were more than right to reject Marseille’s push to sign Saliba in the summer, with the defender well on his way to becoming one of the best in his position in the world.