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Arsenal: 3 William Saliba options amid new developments

By Ross Kennerley

LYON, FRANCE - MAY 23: William Saliba of Nice celebrating his goal with his teammates during the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyon and OGC Nice at Groupama Stadium on May 23, 2021 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
LYON, FRANCE - MAY 23: William Saliba of Nice celebrating his goal with his teammates during the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyon and OGC Nice at Groupama Stadium on May 23, 2021 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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William Saliba, Arsenal
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 08: William Saliba of Arsenal U21 walks off from pitch after receiving red card during the EFL Trophy match between AFC Wimbledon and Arsenal U21 at Plough Lane on December 8, 2020 in Wimbledon, England. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images) /

2. Arsenal Sell William Saliba

Why would Arsenal send Saliba out on loan with an obligation to buy when they can just sell him and recoup the money now? The reasons for that are clear: nobody has any money; not in France; not in Italy; not in Spain.

By loaning him with the arranged purchase it at least buys the club he moves to time to build up some finance, with the hopeful return of supporters to football grounds among other sources of income.

Selling him in this window prevents the unnecessary 12 months of waiting for him to officially leave, while equally watching him likely do well elsewhere and then feel even worse for letting him go. But apart from the overly sentimental side, it would suit Saliba.

If he has doubts over his future and the club opt to loan him with an obligation, from his perspective he’d rather just wipe his hands clean and go. Of course, that isn’t his decision to make as he’s contracted to the club, and Arsenal will do what suits their financial needs best. It is a business, after all.

Whether now or a year later, there is zero chance Arsenal will make their money back on Saliba. None at all. Southampton and Newcastle may be eyeing a loan deal, but the priority interest is in France where no club can, or will, come close to spending £27m on a 20-year-old. It just won’t happen. Not within the current climate.

On the speculative side of things – and this is total shot in the dark stuff – maybe one of the reasons behind the lack of minutes for Saliba and willingness to let him leave stems from the initial deal to sign him. He may have cost £27m, but what if £12m of that was upfront and the remaining £15m would only be paid should be make a certain number of Premier League outings? The structure of the transfer may not be so clean cut.

Yet that is speculative. Who knows. What can be fairly concrete is that no club will pay £27m for a player from a club who had him training with the Under-23’s. Hardly comes across as money well spent from a buyers’ perspective.

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