Arsenal are closing in a move for Saint-Etienne’s teenage defender William Saliba, according to reports.
Le10Sport claim the 18-year-old has already agreed personal terms with the Gunners and only the fee needs to be nailed down before the transfer is a formality.
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The Ligue 1 outfit are believed to want close to £27m for Saliba, although Arsenal will reportedly try and land the 6ft4in defender for a lower price than that – given they only have a £40m transfer budget to work with this summer.
Saint-Etienne reportedly want Saliba to return to the club on a season-long loan, with no indication whether the north London side are open to that or not at this stage.
Saliba’s form attracted the interest of both Manchester City and Manchester United last season, but it is the Gunners who are believed to have won the race for his signature – with the deal set to be announced in the coming days.
Unai Emery has not hidden his desire to bolster his defensive ranks, with Saliba earmarked as a potential replacement for Laurent Koscielny.
Saliba enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2018/19, making 19 appearances in all competitions.
He has already earned plaudits from some of the biggest names in world football, with former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho among them.
“William Saliba has all the assets to become a good player, just like Kurt Zouma, who I signed [from Saint-Etienne].” he told RMC.
Age: 18
Club: Saint-Etienne
Position: Defender
Nationality: France
All competition appearances: 19
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Starts: 13
Substituted: 3
Yellow cards: 1
Pass success rate: 85.6 per cent
Tackles per game: 2
Interceptions per game: 1.8
Clearances per game: 2.7
Aerial duels won per game: 1.8
Dribbles per game: 0.6