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Arsenal are to open discussions about a new deal for William Saliba, even though the 20-year old French defender has yet to play a senior game for them.
Instead, since signing from Saint-Étienne in the summer of 2019, he has undergone a series of loan moved back in Ligue 1, the latest being at Marseille, where he has established a reputation as one of the best central defenders in France.
Marseille would like to make the move permanent, but, giving perhaps the best indication yet that the Gunners see his future back in North London, they are expected to open preliminary talks with him over a new long-term contract.
Should Arsenal qualify for Europe next term, they will need a bigger squad to cope with the extra games, and there have been suggestions that Saliba could be used to rotate the existing centre-back pairing of Benjamin White and Gabriel.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.