William Saliba, the 18-year-old center back who plays for Saint Etienne in Ligue 1 is all set to sign for Arsenal, according to reports in Guardian.
The report states that Arsenal agreed to a five year deal with the defender last week and the youngster looked all set to sign for the Emirates club but Tottenham made a late ditch attempt to hijack the deal.
However, Emery’s side were always confident that Saliba would keep his word and join. After many rounds of negotiations, on Thursday evening Saint Etienne and Arsenal settled on a transfer price.
The 18-year-old will cost in the region of €30m (£27m) with add-ons. But Saliba will not be joining Arsenal this season as he will be sent back on loan to the French side for the 2019/20 season.
This was one of the conditions that Saint Etienne were adamant on before completing any sort of deal. The fact that the North London club accepted this shows just how highly rated the young center back is.
Once the deal is made official, Saliba will become the second signing for the Gunners after Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian is an 18-year-old just like Saliba and is considered to be one of the most exciting talents to come out of Brazil in recent times.
It is a little disappointing that Saliba will not be playing under manager Unai Emery this season but if anything, another season in Ligue 1 will surely help with his footballing education. As a player who does not have much top-level experience, making the jump to a Premier League team can be a daunting task.
Arsenal are buying players with an eye for the future and that is good to see. Players like Saliba are needed to take the club into the next decade or so and fans are surely going to be happy when the deal is made official.
But the fans will also be hoping that the club does not stop here and goes out and buys some more established players that can help the team here and now.
