Arsenal’s reported interest in Ibrahima Konate will come as a bitter blow to William Saliba.
According to The London Evening Standard, Arsenal are interested in signing Konate from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021.
The 21-year-old is a very talented and promising young central defender, and Arsenal are reportedly monitoring the France Under-21 international.
While one can understand the Gunners’ need to always keep an eye out for upcoming young talents, their reported interest in Konate throws Saliba’s future at the Emirates Stadium into further doubt.
The 19-year-old became an Arsenal player in the summer of 2019, and he stayed on loan at Saint-Etienne for the 2019-20 campaign.
The teenager then joined Mikel Arteta’s side, but he failed to make an appearance in the Premier League and was sent on loan to Nice in the January transfer window.
The youngster is scheduled to return to the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season, and he will hope to make an impression on Arteta and break into the first team.
However, reported interest in Konate is likely to make Saliba wonder whether he has a future at Arsenal.
True, Arteta may not have felt that the teenager was ready for the Premier League, but he is only 19 and can only get better and improve.
Konate himself is a very young player – he is just 21 – so it is not as if Arsenal are planning to bring in an experienced central defender who will seamlessly slot into the team.
If Arsenal are willing to sign another centre-back in the summer of 2021, then it only means that they are not entirely happy with what they have at the moment.
If rumour about Konate is true, then Saliba could be on his way out of Arsenal for good.
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