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Highlights
Real Madrid are reportedly interested in Arsenal’s William Saliba, potentially facing a battle to sign him in 2025.
Saliba’s emergence has been pivotal in Arsenal’s recent success, making it crucial for the club to hold onto him.
Arsenal’s sporting director, Edu, must prevent Saliba’s departure to Real Madrid, as the Frenchman is considered near-impossible to replace.
Arsenal are in danger of facing a battle to hold onto William Saliba next year with Real Madrid reportedly interested in the Frenchman. The centre-back is vital for the Gunners and his departure would be disastrous.
It wasn’t that long ago that the north London outfit struggling to make the Champions League, drifting listlessly in the post-Arsene Wenger era. In recent times, however, the club has looked energised and have spent the past two seasons as a serious contender for the Premier League title.
While Mikel Arteta should take credit for the most part, the emergence of Saliba in the team has also been undeniably pivotal in Arsenal’s upturn in fortunes. This is why sporting director Edu cannot afford to let the 23-year-old head to Real Madrid.
Saliba Linked With Real Madrid Move
Deal Targetted for 2025
Per GIVEMESPORT sources, Los Blancos might not come in for Saliba this summer but are instead expected to test Arsenal’s resolve with a lucrative bid for Saliba in 2025 – meaning the Gunners can expect to face a ‘battle’ to keep him at the Emirates in the near future.
The report notes how head coach Carlo Ancelotti has plenty of admiration for the young defender and there are consequential fears within the club that Saliba is entering the final stages of his time on the north Londoners’ books. GMS sources have been informed that Real Madrid seriously considered a move for the centre-back this summer – especially after seeing captain Nacho depart to Saudi club Al Qadsiah – but they will instead reignite their interest in 2025.
It’s little wonder that interest is high with Saliba catching the eye this summer, having played every minute for France at Euro 2024 without conceding a goal from open play yet (the only strike being a penalty netted by Robert Lewandowski). The 23-year-old’s fine performances are nothing new, however, which is exactly why Arteta and co must keep hold of the Frenchman.
Saliba Has Proven to be Vital for Club and Country
Gunners fell apart without him in 2022/23
GMS sources have been told that Arsenal are desperate to hold onto Saliba for the long-term and it’s not hard to see why. The Frenchman signed in 2019 but then spent the next three seasons being loaned out. In those campaigns, the Gunners finished eighth twice and then fifth.
Saliba got his chance at the start of the 2022/23 season, and the club’s improved form has been drastic. Playing 65 league games since, the Frenchman has tasted defeat just eight times, winning 49 matches and picking up 29 clean sheets along the way. In both seasons, Arsenal have challenged for the title, finishing twice on each occasion.
Last term, the north London side picked up 89 points. Before the campaign began, the average points needed to win the competition was 87.67, but with Manchester City picking up 91 points, the Gunners were incredibly unlucky to fall just short.
And were it not for injury, Saliba may already be a title holder under Arteta. In 2023/23, the centre-half played the first 27 league games, losing just three times, drawing a further three games, and winning the rest. He then suffered a back injury and was out for the rest of the reason.
In that time frame of 11 games, Arsenal lost and drew the same amount of games (three each) in the previous 27 matches. As such, the Gunners went from having a five-point lead at the top of the table, to finishing second behind Man City by a gap of five points – suffering a 10-point swing in just 11 games without Saliba.
On this evidence – with the margins so fine in a title race – even a medium-term injury for the Frenchman could be catastrophic for the club’s title ambitions. With that said, should he move to Real Madrid at any time in the foreseeable future, it’s highly likely that Arsenal would struggle to replace him.
Notably, his high level of passing skills make him perfectly suited to play the possession-based style of football Arteta likes to employ. As displayed in the stats below, which show how he compares to positional peers in the men’s top five European leagues, as well as the Champions League and Europa League over the last 365 days, Saliba is one of the best in the world – finishing in the top 80% or so percentile for all the recorded passing categories.
Saliba Passing Skills Statistic Per 90 Percentile Passes Completed 69.46 88 Passes Attempted 75.71 88 Pass Completion % 91.7% 91 Total Passing Distance 1138.01 78 Progressive Passing Distance 408.97 80 Passes Completed (Short) 32.37 94 Passes Attempted (Short) 34.37 94 Pass Completion % (Short) 94.2% 80 Passes Completed (Medium) 33.53 82 Passes Attempted (Medium) 35.70 82 Pass Completion % (Medium) 93.9% 79
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Making him near-impossible to replace
The good news is that Saliba still has three years remaining on his £190,000-per-week contract, so the club are in a strong position when it comes to negotiations. As well as that, he is valued as being worth €105.2m (£89m) by CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model, making him their most valuable centre-back in world football.
Most valuable centre-backs in world football Defender Value Club Age Nationality William Saliba £89m Arsenal 23 French Antonio Silva £86m Benfica 20 Portugal Castello Lukeba £72m RB Leipzig 21 French Giorgio Scalvini £68.5m Atalanta 20 Italy Gabriel Magalhaes £68m Arsenal 26 Brazil
But as one of the best centre-backs in the game, if not the best, even with plenty of money to sign a replacement, finding someone of the same level would be near-impossible. With that said, it is therefore absolutely imperative that Edu finds a way to fend off Real Madrid’s transfer advances.
Arteta looks likely to have the 2024/25 season to work with Saliba but any time beyond that is less certain. With Pep Guardiola still in charge, Man City will be favourites to win the league next term. If that happens, and then Saliba departs, the Arsenal project under the Spaniard may well collapse having failed to reach the heights they are so close to scaling.
Stats via CIES, FBREF, and Transfermarkt (as of 08/07/24).
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