William Saliba will speak with Arsenal over a possible new contract at the end of his loan spell with Marseille, football.london understands.
The 20-year-old defender has joined the French giants on a season long loan ahead of the new campaign to ‘continue his development’, according to Gunners technical director Edu.
Saliba spent six months on loan at Nice last season, making 22 appearances, having been signed from Saint-Etienne for a fee in the region of £27m back in 2019.
However, he's yet to make a competitive appearance for the club and was not included in the Premier League or Europa League squad last season, alongside Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
football.london understands that Arsenal will sit down with Saliba and his representative following his loan spell at the Stade Velodrome, where a decision will be made on the player’s future - with the most likely option being a new long-term contract extension.
Saliba, a boyhood Arsenal fan, picked the club of his dreams over the likes of Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham and Everton when he joined the Gunners in 2019.
"Together with William, we have decided it will be good for his continued development to spend another season on loan," said Edu after Saliba’s move to Marseille was confirmed.
"William joined us as an 18-year-old, and he is still only 20, so he is still developing all the time.
"William is a player with strong natural ability and next season has the potential to be really beneficial for him at Marseille, a good club. To play another season in Ligue 1 will be very important for his development.
"We will of course be keeping in close contact with William during the season and wish him all the best in France with Marseille.”
The Gunners are in talks with Brighton over the signing of centre back Ben White having already added left back Nuno Tavares to the squad, while the arrival of Albert Sambi Lokonga from Anderlecht is imminent.
Granit Xhaka’s move to Roma has stalled due to the Italian side’s reluctance to increase their offer, although the Swiss midfielder has told Arsenal and his representative that he wants to join Jose Mourinho’s team this summer.
