Ben Guest
Arsenal’s potential signing of William Saliba is in doubt, with reports claiming that Spurs are trying to muscle their way in on a deal.
Arsenal have been linked with the St. Etienne defender for a number of weeks, and reports in recent days had suggested that they had come to an agreement with the French side.
Saliba was expected to complete a £26.5 million move to the Gunners but stay with the Ligue 1 outfit for a further 12 months to continue his development, a condition insisted upon by his current employers.
However, reports in France today claim that Arsenal’s North London rivals, Spurs, have now made a move of their own for the 18-year-old, in a bid to snatch the youngster from under Unai Emery’s nose.
The claims from RMC are backed up by the highly respected David Ornstein, with the BBC journalist confirming Spurs ‘interest’ via his twitter account.
“Negotiations between Arsenal, Saint Etienne and Saliba were in their very final stages – much of it already in the hands of lawyers to agree wording of contracts etc – but Tottenham have reignited their interest and are now pushing hard to get the deal completed,” Ornstein wrote.
The Gunners are already hampered by a relatively miniscule budget of around £40 million this summer and were yesterday rocked by Laurent Koscielny’s refusal to join the clubs pre-season trip to the USA.
See also – Six much cheaper alternatives to Wilfried Zaha for cashstrapped Arsenal
Negotiations between Arsenal, Saint Etienne and Saliba were in their very final stages – much of it already in the hands of lawyers to agree wording of contracts etc – but Tottenham have reignited their interest and are now pushing hard to get the deal completed #AFC #THFC #ASSE https://t.co/8uihItY3eS
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) July 12, 2019