William Saliba is set to join Marseille on a season-long loan, his third loan deal since joining the club on a permanent deal three years ago.
It was announced that the defender had pulled out of the Olympics squad earlier on today, and that now appears to have been so he could concentrate on his club career, although not with us.
The Athletic claims that Saliba has now decided to join Marseille on loan after a number of offers from other clubs in both Germany, France and England, and a deal is now expected to be in easy to negotiate.
The decision is claimed to be because of Ben White’s prospective move from Brighton, which is believed to have convinced Saliba to pursue regular football elsewhere, despite initial intentions to vie for minutes within the playing squad.
Saliba has three years remaining on his playing deal, meaning that Arsenal will not have to be concerned on the youngster trying to force a permanent exit at present, but you have to be concerned that our relationship with William, who is ranked amongst the top young defenders in the world.
I hope it was a joint-decision between both Saliba and Arsenal to allow him to go out in search of more-guaranteed minutes, but I can’t help but feel he should have been given further assurances ahead of this season.
Patrick