William Saliba has been given a major Arsenal boost ahead of next season, and he can thank Xavi Hernandez for it. This is because Barcelona are reportedly close to agreeing to a deal for their centre-back Ronald Araujo.
According to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, Edu had offered Araujo a deal worth £5m-a-year to join the club the next season. The Uruguayan international had yet to sign a new deal with Barcelona with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, but transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the defender is close to signing a new contract at the club.
The 23-year-old certainly seemed like a direct replacement for Saliba, whose future with the Gunners was uncertain. However, with Arsenal now unlikely to sign their preferred centre-back in the summer transfer window, Saliba has space to breakthrough into Mikel Arteta’s starting squad.
