Arsenal’s William Saliba has emerged as one of the Premier League’s top defenders and his performances have brought him to the attention of Spanish giants Real Madrid.
William Saliba has become one of key performers for The Gunners since forcing his way into the first-team in 2022.
Before his breakthrough it appeared like Saliba did not have much of a future at The Emirates having originally joined Arsenal from St Etienne in 2019.
However, he then spent the next two seasons on loan at Nice and Marseille. He impressed hugely during his time back in France and whilst with Marseille, he was crowned Young Player of the Year and was also handed his international debut.
At this point he was recalled by Arsenal and has never looked back, soon becoming a first-team regular and last summer he was rewarded with a new long-term contract.
Real Madrid looking at William Saliba
Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain both showed an interest in Saliba last summer, but now HITC understands that Real Madrid have been making checks on the French star.
Madrid are looking at central defence as an area they need to invest in the coming 18-months to two-years. They are very happy with Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao. However, their options after that are somewhat limited and have been exposed by the injury to Militao which has seen him miss most of the season.
Real have had to use veteran Nacho in over 20 games, and in their recent Champions League quarter-final first leg clash with Manchester City, Carlo Ancelotti drafted midfield starlet Aurelien Tchouameni into central defence.
Real looking to the future
Real are now actively looking towards the future and scouting chief Juni Calafat has been tasked with finding options at central defence. HITC has already revealed that Lille’s Leny Yoro and Benfica’s Antonio Silva have both emerged as two young central defenders who they really like and are doing their work on.
However, with Endrick already arriving and deals close to being finalised for Kylian Mbappe and Alphonso Davies – Madrid sources are not certain that they will have the room financially to bring in a new central derfnder too.
But the work of Calafat and his team is continuing to make sure his Real bosses are aware of the best options available to them and sources have now confirmed to HITC that the performances of Saliba have caught the attention of Madrid.
We are told their scouts have been ‘hugely impressed’ with the young French star and issued some glowing reports on him this season and they feel he is one of the stand-out defenders in world football.
HITC understands that there is no suggestion at this point that Real would look to mount a bid at Saliba this summer, but long-term he is now viewed with ever increasing admiration at the Santiago Bernabeu.