Arsenal could be on the verge of losing out to Tottenham in their pursuit of St Etienne youngster William Saliba, according to reports in the French media.
Arsenal has apparently tabled a €23 Million bid with add ons for the 18-year-old thus taking the potential full amount to €30 Million.
But that is not good enough for the French club, not only do they want the full amount paid up front they also want to keep the teenager on loan for another season.
Unai Emery has reportedly agreed to the loan part but the actual transfer fee remains the sticking point.
It appears Spurs are willing to pay the full amount and loan the teenager back in the event they manage to keep Toby Alderweireld for another season.
This puts Emery in a tricky position, he now knows that if he does to accede to St Etienne’s demands he will lose out on one of his major targets.
The French outfit has really played hardball in this saga, which is their right of course but Arsenal should have walked away long ago. The writing was on the wall that St Etienne was not going to be reasonable and there is enough talent out there not to be held to ransom like this.
It will be hugely frustrating if Tottenham signs the lad but so be it. There is no guarantee that Saliba will be a success in English football and his price just seems too high now.
How the mighty have fallen.
Can we please just stop messing around and sign both Saliba and Tierney. We shouldn’t be fighting over an extra $2-3m. Just get it done and then move on. Both are quality players who could cement their spot for the next decade.
Bellerin Saliba Holding/Mav Tierney
That’s a set and forget defence for the next 10 years
With Bellerin and Holding missing the first month or two of next season and Saliba not able to play for us until season 20/21 our defence won’t be settled for quite a while.
Exactly right, Declan; the defense needs upgrading now, not at the start of the 2020/21 season.
Arsenal need to walk away and invest in an EPL ready CB like Lewis Dunk from Brighton and Hove Albion; 1.92m tall and an England international.
Is this true or is the press making things up. We want Anderson, suddenly Spur wants him, we both are vying for Cebellos signature, now we are in danger of losing Saliba to them. What da fcuk!!! What happens to their high profile targets. Shouldn’t they concentrate on getting Ndombele, Zaniolo, Van de beek since Levy has sanctioned 300m transfer money. Why they suddenly scurrying the transfer basement to get a cheap players like Jack Clarke for 15m. That is our specialty and Someone should let them that transfer basement is our turf?????
Don’t believe the rumors in the articles, because they are mostly just clickbaits
kev has already said Saliba is done deal
Yeah-must be true if Kev says so.
He said he did not want to join the spuds he wants Arsenal
I have never seen Saliba in action so I don’t know what he’s like but if we are really in for him or if it’s a done deal then I would be disappointed in our management. Why waste money on what you already have when there isn’t enough money to go around baffles me. Why waste precious 18m pounds on a teenager when we already have plenty in our academy? We still have Rob Holding, Mavropanos and Krystian Bielik, the latter is yet to be given a chance. I would understand if we were buying a +27 year old but wasting money on potential just isn’t worth it relative to our spending power. (Just my opinion)
Maybe he is better than the players in our academy…and maybe the board believe that Saliba’s value will double or triple next year… just look at Nicholas Pepe’s value now..
With the penny pinching, we have and you want to waste a good 18m pounds on potential? Whose value might appreciate or depreciate, we have players whose value might appreciate. What about them?
If you believe kev you or BRAIN DEAD anyway we need a good CB LB winger if any money is left over from the pot and sells get a DM and please forget about zaha we don’t need him got to many like him already good going forward but crap chasing back so don’t get him
I doubt this story as no bid was reported for Tottenham yet, it could be a media story to hasten Arsenal to dot the I and cross the T.
If this “reported” bid is true, along with the second one for Tierney, what is the club up to?
Wasn’t all this supposed to end when gazidis bought in the three wise men (sadly now down to two) and AW was stripped of his PERCEIVED single handedly running of the club?
That was TWO YEARS AGO and yet here we are, it seems, in exactly the same situation, so that’s one claim completely rubbished and more will follow in my opinion.
If kronkie has given a pre-determined transfer budget, then we can’t blame him for what seems a farcical transfer saga…even if it is a ridiculously low budget.
The negotiaters know what they have in the kitty and, instead of
embarrasing the club, should be strengthening the areas by using said budget and close the deals, just have manure have done as recently as yesterday.
As a footnote, the £500,000 a week reported salary of Sanchez doesn’t seem to be bleeding their club dry does it?
In fact, that figure is nearly the same as the combined reported ones for myk and Ozil…just £30,000 difference.
Hasn’t stopped them from spending big has it?
Yet our club, it seems, can’t NEGOTIATE out of a paper bag, let’s start questioning the current encumbents and not keep letting them off the hook by looking backwards.
I agree with you Ken. Wasn’t Raul supposed to have some magical contact list that put us past this?
Yet here we are, same amateurish behavior in window, wringing our pauper hands. Thought this was supposed to change with new stadium.
Maybe Wenger wasn’t to blame, but he surely was not innocent. He played the game and cashed his checks.
Durand,
good to hear from you.
Of course AW cannot go unscathed from the situation we find ourselves in, some of his buys were ludicrous, expensive and c**p!!
Not only that, I believe he lost not only his way, but the dressing room as well in his last year,
No argument then old friend, but I can’t agree with the cheques situation.
It’s the same argument that always occurs with Ozil…you ran your own business and you (probably) offered your employees what you thought they were worth.
Did anyone turn round and say “sorry, but I’m not worth that much, just pay me XXX instead?
We have made a rod for our backs with the salaries we pay out, but that shouldn’t come into any discussion regarding the players worth based on performance should it?
Likewise AW…the argument COULD be made that he wasn’t paid enough in his first decade, if one looks at fergies reported salary versus his.
I don’t defend AW when it is plainly obvious to be his mistake, but the real bad apples were, in my opinion, gazidis and kronkie for awarding such contracts.
This story of AW having complete and utter control is unravelling before our very eyes as the mistakes continue to happen TWO YEARS after the announcement he was leaving at the end of that season.