According to Ouest France, Rennes are in talks with Arsenal over the signing of William Saliba on loan.
The report describes the Frenchman as an unexpected opportunity for the Ligue 1 side, and one that is likely to eclipse Rennes’ interest in Juventus defender Daniele Rugani.
Ouest France also state that the Gunners wouldn’t be against a new loan for Saliba, who has only recently returned from a season-long sting at St Etienne.
Unai Emery signed the 19-year-old for £27 million last summer, before loaning him back to St Etienne.
Saliba has since returned to north London, but Mikel Arteta is yet to hand him his competitive debut in an Arsenal shirt.
The Frenchman – who earns £40k-a-week at the Emirates according to Spotrac – has the likes of Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhães, David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi, Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers to compete with for a centre-back spot.
In that respect, perhaps another loan move would make sense.
Saliba is still a teenager, and there are simply too many senior options for him to compete with right now.
His development could be restricted with so many other centre-backs currently at the club, so perhaps Arteta is right to consider another temporary exit for the big-money signing.
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