Arsenal: Finally, a smart William Saliba structure

Arsenal have reportedly agreed to a £25 million deal for William Saliba that is structured with very minimal upfront costs and a year-long loan. Finally, a move that makes sense.

Arsenal need a new centre-half. There are very few people that you would find disagreeing with that fact — sadly, you could make that very same argument for the past decade and a half. And it seems as though Unai Emery, his coaching staff, and those making the transfer decisions at the Emirates agree.

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The Gunners have zeroed in on Saint-Etienne centre-back William Saliba as a potential solution to their central defensive problems. The 18-year-old, who emerged during last season in Ligue 1, made 16 league appearances for St Etienne and is seen as one of the brightest young defensive talents in world football.

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But there was always a problem: Saliba was to remain at St Etienne for another season, either via a year-long loan back to the club or just through not selling in the first place. Club president Roland Romeyer said earlier this summer:

"“He [Saliba] will stay at the club this season. It is an imperative condition should we come to an agreement for his transfer. It’s also William’s wish.”"

And that, for an Arsenal team that is desperate for defensive help in the here and now and not just in the future, is a major hurdle that many were a little hesitant for the club to climb over. Understandably so, given that it would have left two starting defenders the wrong side of 30 and three highly unproven back-ups alongside the hapless Shkodran Mustafi.

It seems, however, that Sanllehi and Huss Fahmy, the pair leading the Gunners’ transfer negotiations this summer, have pulled a rather neat and potentially ideal solution out of their hats. According to James Olley of the London Evening Standard, St Etienne have solicited a £25 million deal that incorporates the year-long loan that they demand but with very limited upfront payments.

The point of the deal is that it still provides Arsenal with their long-term solution to the centre-back position, allows St Etienne to keep Saliba for another season, guaranteeing first-team football for a year, and still preserves a large portion of the measly £40-45 million transfer budget that Emery and Sanllehi are attempting to work wonders with.

The greatest issue with the Saliba deal in its infancy was that he would be costing more than half of the transfer budget but not arrive for another year. Given the vast number of other needs, and their extent, it was not viable to invest such a huge proportion of the transfer budget into a player who would not be available for a year. This, then, seems like an ideal solution to that problem.

It does still mean that Arsenal need a centre-half for a year, but they now have an extra £25 million or so that they would not previously have had available to invest. And if Saliba is as special as advertised, this will all look like an absolute bargain.