A former coach of William Saliba has spoken about his immense potential and what Arsenal fans can expect from the 18-year-old once he joins their squad next season.
The Gunners agreed a deal to sign the Saint-Etienne centre-back this summer but immediately loaned him back to Les Verts for the 2019/20 campaign.
Standing at six-foot-four, and comfortable in possession, it is hoped that he can prove to be a wise purchase to develop into exactly the sort of commanding, ball-playing defender the club lacks.
Last season, he played 16 games in Ligue 1 as his team collected nine clean sheets in those matches.
Speaking in an interview with French outlet 20 Minutes, translated by Get French Football News , his former coach, Abdelaziz Kaddour, hailed his quality.
"Over his 13 starts, I can only remember super performances," he said. "When I think about it, to battle at Arsenal at 19-years-old, that will be exceptional."
The trainer worked with Saliba at Montfermeil, the club he left in 2016 as a youngster to join Saint-Etienne, with whom he make his senior breakthrough last season.
According to Kaddour, it is his personality, as well as his talent with the ball, that makes the teenager stand out as special.
"Aside from his footballing qualities, he already had a lot of charisma for a young player of 13 years old who was playing Under-15s," he said.
"In the dressing room, he was a force and he would say the right things. He looked everyone in the eyes.
"And he quickly understood that he could only achieve his dreams by accepting to become a central defender like I repeated to him, and not as a midfielder or even attacker like he was at [his former club] AS Bondy.
"To see him succeed so quickly with the 1st team at Saint-Etienne, that impressed me the most.
"He projects confidence, a cold-blooded mentality and technical ease as if he was still playing for Montfermeil. He never felt pressure.
"And still, I feel like I am watching the same William in Ligue 1 as when he was playing for us.
"I feel that he is mentally ready for this level. He has always known what he wanted, whilst keeping his feet on the ground.
"Even in the final days, he let his agent deal with all of that and didn’t lose his head. And then he is a boy who likes to work."
At 18, having only made 13 league starts in his career so far, Saliba is not yet the finished article, but Kaddour believes his former charge will improve rapidly at the highest levels of the game.
"I am sure we can find some even if he has rarely made mistakes in Ligue 1," he said.
"With his big size, he needs to be more aggressive in his heading game to add a threat from attacking set-pieces.
"He could also improve in overtaking players, not hesitating to advance further with the ball to spark a move, which he did very well for us.
"But I see him as a future French international."
