Arsenal defender William Saliba impressed in his time on loan at Marseille, guiding the club to second in Ligue 1, taking place in next season’s Champions League. The 21-year-old’s performances earned plenty of plaudits, winning the league’s Young Player of the Season award.
Following that spell, the centre-back is now set to return to the Emirates, with uncertainty surrounding his role in the squad. As a result, the youngster has been linked with a move away from the club, with only two years remaining on his current deal.
With that in mind, football.london takes a look at all the latest on the transfer saga as rumours begin to heat up on a potential move for the defender.
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Huge contract hint
A huge hint may have been dropped over a potential new deal for William Saliba in the near future. The Frenchman has two years remaining on his contract and football.london have previously reported that the plan was to open preliminary talks regarding a new deal towards the end of the his spell at Marseille.
And in a twist of events, his agent may have posted the biggest hint yet with an Instagram photo showing the Arsenal signing room.
Saliba ends uncertainty
There were strong suggestions that Saliba could return to Marseille in the coming weeks and months, but the defender has now put those rumours to bed. Speaking with Julien Maynard on French television programme Telefoot, the 21-year-old said: "I belong to Arsenal. I still have two years left. I will be back with Arsenal. I have played zero matches, and I still want to show them my true face and have the chance to play for these fans and this great club."
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Mikel Arteta claim
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has claimed that Saliba "has to" return to the club next season, following his spell with Marseille. Speaking to RMC Sport, he said: "He has to come back. He has the experience and the necessary environment to be competitive with us. If he had stayed with us this year, with one Premier League game a week and with Ben White and Gabriel, he wouldn't have had half the game time he had with Marseille, that's for sure.
"In terms of his growth and what he could do next year, it wouldn't have been good. William wasn't with us because he wouldn't have had the playing time required to gain experience. That's it, nothing else."
Marseille hope
Marseille club president Pablo Longoria is planning to hold talks with Arsenal over a prospective move for the French defender. Speaking to RMC Sport, he was also very complimentary of the Gunners as a club.
"We had a lot of conversations analysing William Saliba's season, especially in the last few days," he said. "He's coming off an extraordinary season, with one of the highest number of matches played in Europe.
"He also joined the France team, which is incredible at his age. We discussed a lot internally about what we can do to find out what the possibilities are. We respect his club, we have to thank Arsenal.
"It's a friendly club that helped us a lot during the last transfer window. We have very good relations. We have to talk to each other, see if there is the possibility of reaching an agreement between the clubs, there is the player's will, the club's will… But above all, we must respect Arsenal."
William Saliba admission
The defender himself has opened up on the potential of a move this summer, saying earlier this month, via the Metro: "I want to come back and play in the Champions League. I have never played in it, and I want to discover it here."
Transfer talks
According to journalist Mohamed Toubache-ter, via GFFN, Saliba wants to stay at Marseille, with both clubs knowing that decision. Despite that, it will still be on Les Olympiens to make an offer that would suit Arsenal, especially with reported interest from other clubs.
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