Arsenal have made young French defender William Saliba available for transfer in the upcoming window, according to reports from Felix Keith of football.london and Eurosport’s Dean Jones. Saliba was signed 18 months ago from Saint-Etienne but has spent the majority of his time with the Gunners back on loan to the French club.
His signing came when previous head of football Raul Sanllehi was at the club. However, it is reported that insiders believe he is not yet ready for the Premier League and, as such, should be moved on.
Arsenal Make William Saliba Available for January Move
Excitement Over Move Quickly Faded
Saliba’s move from Saint-Etienne came at a cost of around £27 million. He also signed a five-year deal, indicating that Arsenal saw this as a long-term project and that he could be the answer to their long-standing defensive problems.
Some fans were left surprised when he was allowed to return to Saint-Etienne on loan, but there was even more shock at the start of this season when he was left out completely by Mikel Arteta from the club’s Premier League and Europa League squad lists.
The France U20 international is still yet to make his senior debut for the club but has now racked up a handful of appearances for the U21s. However, this hasn’t gone to plan either, as Saliba was sent off in the 3-0 loss to AFC Wimbledon which saw the youth side knocked out of the Papa John’s Trophy.
Club Open to Offers
The lack of game time he has had at the club has left Saliba feeling as though he isn’t an Arsenal player, and that could soon be the reality. The club are reportedly open to sanctioning a loan move next month to allow Saliba to build up some more minutes.
While there have been no teams linked so far, Brentford were reportedly interested in a loan deal in the summer. This would make sense as it would allow Arsenal to monitor Saliba’s progress closely in a league with a similar style to England’s top flight.
With the futures of David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos all unknown (the trio are out of contract next summer), William Saliba could still come into the first-team set-up and make an impression. For now, though, it looks like his immediate future is away from Arsenal.
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