Arsenal have agreed upon a five-year contract with Saint Etienne defender, William Saliba but they are yet to finalise on a transfer fee.
The Ligue 1 outfit want their asking price of €30m met up front but Unai Emery has other players to worry about. Arsenal are currently in a peculiar spot with deals close to being agreed with both Kieran Tierney and Wilfried Zaha.
All three of the Gunners’ top targets wants the North London switch but the club does not have the funds to facilitate an immediate move. Emery is still bargaining with Etienne to let Saliba walk for a cheaper rate.
Arsenal are willing to pay €23m now for the 18-year-old defender and €7m later through incentives. They obviously rate the youngster highly to be so reluctant on getting him but the French side are not making it any easier on them.
Saint Etienne are demanding they get Saliba back for one more season on loan. Their boss, Ghislain Printant insisted that the player still needs to develop in his original setting.
Arsenal are in dire need of defensive reinforcements and they cannot afford to pay €30m for a player who they won’t be using immediately. Now, they just have to wrap up the deal by convincing Etienne into parting ways with Saliba.
See Also: Arsenal Defender Transfer Targets
