Arsenal defender William Saliba has been identified as an ‘absolute priority’ for Real Madrid in the next transfer window, according to reports in France.
The 23-year-old had a slow start to life as an Arsenal player, signing for the club in 2019 but then heading out on a trio of loan spells.
After returning to former club Saint-Etienne and then moving to Nice and Marseille on short-term deals, the centre-back finally got the chance to shine with the Gunners in the 2022/23 season.
Since then he has been thoroughly impressive, a fixture in the heart of Arsenal’s defence and quickly developing into one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League.
The France international has made 116 appearances for Arsenal, scoring seven goals in the process.
His performances under Mikel Arteta, and in 26 caps for France, have caught the eye of a club even bigger than Arsenal and Real Madrid are plotting a move in the summer.
French publication RMC Sport report that Saliba has been ‘identified as an absolute priority’ by the Spanish giants as they plan to strengthen their defence this year.
While that will be a worry for Gunners fans, in better news the report states that Arsenal do not expect to lose Saliba.
An enormous price tag will be put on the Frenchman and if Real Madrid want to sign him they will have to make him the most expensive defender in history.
Harry Maguire still holds that tag after his £80m move from Leicester to Manchester United and Arsenal would not consider letting Saliba going for less than that amount.
However, his contract at the Emirates runs until 2027, so Arsenal’s window of opportunity for charging that enormous amount may close sooner rather than later.
The report from France also states that Real Madrid were also very keen on trying to tempt Erling Haaland from Manchester City.
The striker’s lengthy new contract with the Premier League champions has made that target much less likely, though, and their interest has moved elsewhere.