The president of Saint-Etienne has confirmed that Arsenal are on course to land the signature of William Saliba after reaching an agreement over the transfer fee.
The Gunners have been in lengthy discussions with the French side in the past weeks and they are understood to have eventually agreed on a £27m sum to land his signature.
In an interview with Le Progres, Saint-Etienne president Bernard Caiazzo confirmed that the deal is going through with the Gunners, but the defender will return to the French side on loan for the forthcoming season.
“Everything is on track with Arsenal. William will spend next season with us.” he said.
A £27m deal would normally consume most of the Gunners’ budget for the summer but that does not seem the case with the payments set to be made in installments.
Preferably, the Gunners would have wanted Saliba joining the team next season, but they have nonetheless agreed to pursue the youngster, given they would not want to miss out on his services to another European rival.
Tottenham Hotspur are understood to have gone head-to-head with Arsenal to land the teenage defender but Unai Emery’s side had the edge in terms of the player’s preference.
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