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Atletico Madrid 'keeping tabs on Arsenal's William Saliba'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 03 November 2022

Atletico Madrid 'keeping tabs on William Saliba'

Arsenal centre-back William Saliba is reportedly a target for Atletico Madrid as the Gunners work to extend the 21-year-old's contract.

Atletico Madrid are reportedly keeping a close eye on William Saliba's contract situation at Arsenal.

The 21-year-old is enjoying a breakthrough season under Mikel Arteta after spending three years on loan with Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille in his homeland.

Saliba has formed a consistent part of Arsenal's backline, forming an effective partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes to propel the Gunners to the top of the Premier League table.

Saliba has started all 12 Premier League games for Arsenal so far this season, scoring twice and providing one assist, as well as making two Europa League appearances.

The Gunners are working to tie the France international down to a new contract as a matter of priority, with his current deal due to expire at the end of the season.

William Saliba in action for Arsenal in September 2022 © Reuters

Arsenal do possess the option to extend Saliba's stay for another 12 months until 2024, but numerous European clubs are thought to be monitoring developments closely.

According to Fichajes, Atletico Madrid are one of the teams waiting to pounce if Saliba decides to advance his career elsewhere, having tried and failed to sign him on two previous occasions.

The report claims that Diego Simeone's side wanted to snap up the centre-back when he was still with Saint-Etienne and were also among the sides interested in signing him in the summer window just gone.

However, Saliba elected to stay at Arsenal and try to force his way into Arteta's setup, having gone three years without making a single first-team appearance for the Premier League leaders.

Saliba was signed for a £27m fee in the summer of 2019 and was immediately loaned back out to Saint-Etienne for the 2019-20 season before working with the Gunners first team in the next summer.

William Saliba in action for Arsenal in July 2022 © Reuters

The defender was a part of the Community Shield-winning squad, but he was restricted to just eight games for the Under-23s before joining Nice on loan for the second half of the 2020-21 season.

Arteta did not deem him ready for first-team action last summer, and Saliba was loaned out for a third time to Marseille, where he became a favourite of the fans and Jorge Sampaoli.

Saliba won the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year title as Marseille finished second and qualified for the Champions League, and Les Olympiens pulled out all the stops in their attempts to sign him permanently.

However, Marseille were ultimately unsuccessful in doing so, and Saliba is now said to have been presented with a formal offer of a new contract, but there is still no agreement between the two parties.

Arsenal are also negotiating contract renewals with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, and Saliba's centre-back partner Gabriel has already committed his future to Arsenal until 2027.