Freelance football journalist Lee Davey claims that Newcastle have got a chance of signing Arsenal centre-back William Saliba this summer.
Saliba joined the Gunners as an 18-year-old under former boss Unai Emery in 2019 and was immediately sent back on loan to Saint-Etienne, but he is yet to make a senior appearance for the north London club.
The 21-year-old has spent the last two seasons on loan at Nice and Marseille respectively and enjoyed a breakout campaign at OM this year, being named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year.
He made 36 league appearances for the club as they finished second to Paris Saint-Germain and has become a feature in the France national squad.
Arsenal correspondent Charles Watts has suggested that he may be seeking regular game time in order to make the World Cup – which isn’t a guarantee at his parent club given Mikel Arteta’s current preferred duo of Gabriel and Ben White.
With that in mind and the watchful eye being cast over Marseille’s business, Davey believes Newcastle could plot a move.
Speaking on the Fully Loaded Transfer Show, he said: “Newcastle have definitely got a chance, purely because Marseille cannot meet the asking price.
“I think Arsenal, from what I can gather, were looking [for] in excess of £30m. Marseille don’t have that money, they don’t, they’ve just lost Boubacar Kamara, which was one of their big assets, and he’s gone on a free transfer.
“He wants to stay in Marseille, of course he does. He’s had a fantastic season there, he wants to stay there, but he’s not going to be able to, unfortunately – unless Marseille find some money from somewhere to stump that up. So it’s not going to happen, that opens the door for Newcastle.”
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TIF Thoughts on Saliba to Newcastle…
According to L’Equipe (via Leicestershire Live), PIF have asked about the £27m-rated defender, who posted a passing success rate of 93.1% in Ligue 1 matches this season.
That puts him at the front of the line when it comes to St James’ Park representatives who played more than three times over the course of the campaign.
Teammate Matteo Guendouzi labelled him “extraordinary” and a “very important player” for the Ligue 1 giants and he could well be part of the foundations that Newcastle look to build their revolution upon.