Arsenal have reportedly made a “very attractive” offer to William Saliba for him to extend his stay at the club, amongst interest from Real Madrid.
Since arriving from Saint-Étienne in 2019, the French defender has become one of the best of the world and is the latest target that Madrid hope to convince to run down his contract and facilitate a free transfer.
The 24-year-old is tied to the Emirates until 2027 having signed his latest deal in 2023 but Arsenal have put forward a new offer which they hope will keep him at the club.
According to French outlet le10sport, the Gunners have presented a “very attractive offer” to the player and would like a “quick” answer. Mikel Arteta is said to want to “build the future with around Saliba” in his quest to win the Premier League.
The outlet claims the player is “not indifferent” to the offer with the defender currently earning a reported £190,000 a week.
Saliba though is no mind to rush a decision and is said to be using the summer break to think things over.
The Frenchman reportedly “dreams” of a move to Madrid but is undecided over whether he wants to run down his Arsenal deal.
Arsenal would most likely not wish to lose Saliba for a free, joining the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Trent Alexander-Arnold to move to Madrid for nothing, but have been exploring the opportunity of a swap deal should Saliba decide to leave.
Spanish outlet Defensa Central claim that the Gunners have now made an “offer” to Real Madrid “to swap Rodrygo for Saliba” in the transfer window.
Rodrygo has struggled for minutes following the arrival of Mbappe and is on the radar of a number of top clubs around Europe.
It is understood that Arsenal “would be willing to let Saliba leave if they have the chance to sign Rodrygo” but Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is not convinced.
The Madrid president believes that Rodrygo’s transfer value is higher and given Saliba only has two years left on his deal, the defender’s price will drop if he does not renew this summer.
Elsewhere, Arsenal’s long pursuit of Viktor Gyokeres has hit an ‘impasse’, according to reports.
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Portuguese newspaper Record says Arsenal representatives have ‘returned to London from Lisbon after failing to close the deal’ over the weekend.
This comes after transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said over the weekend that Arsenal were ‘getting closer’ to landing Gyokeres.
Romano wrote on X: “Arsenal are now getting closer to signing Viktor Gyokeres after new round of talks in recent hours. Gyökeres will NOT return for training at Sporting as he’s fully focused on leaving the club; Arsenal are now advancing. Nothing done yet but discussions underway.”
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