Agent of £26m star fuels Arsenal & Man Utd move talk after confirming he’s in UK

Managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads during the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, the latest on William Saliba…

William Saliba’s agent has fuelled speculation the £26m-rated Saint-Etienne centre-back is heading to Arsenal or Manchester United after confirming he’s in England, according to the Mirror.

Saliba emerged as one of the most highly-rated young defenders in French football after breaking into the Saint-Etienne first team last season and he’s been tipped as a possible future French international having already represented his country at youth level.

The 18-year-old’s potential hasn’t gone unnoticed here in the Premier League as Le10Sport reported recently that Arsenal and Manchester United have both expressed an interest in luring Saliba to England this summer.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to be a busy man over the coming weeks as he looks to revamp his squad following a disappointing campaign and defence is a priority after Man Utd conceded 54 goals last season.

Saliba is seemingly on Solskjaer’s radar but Arsenal emerged as the front runners for his signature with Goal claiming late last week that Unai Emery has identified the youngster as a prime summer transfer target.

The Gunners boss also needs to strengthen his defence after the north Londoners missed out on the top four and Saliba could be viewed as a replacement for Shkodran Mustafi or Laurent Koscielny with both players linked with moves this summer.

However, Saliba’s agent Djibril Niang has now fuelled speculation over a potential move to the Premier League after confirming on Instagram that he’s currently in England after posting a photo from the Ivy Asia restaurant in Manchester.

Obviously this social media activity has sparked fresh rumours of a move, particular to Man Utd, with speculation suggesting Niang is in Manchester to discuss a potential transfer for Saliba this summer.

The Mirror claim that Saint-Etienne want £26m for the young defender but the Ligue 1 outfit would prefer to have him back on loan for next season so he can continue his development in France.

That proposition doesn’t sit well with Arsenal as Emery has a tight budget to work from this summer and he can’t afford to spend £26m on a player that he won’t be able to use for another 12 months.

Therefore, that could have opened the door for Man Utd as the Manchester giants do have the finances available to buy Saliba and send him back to Saint-Etienne on loan for next season.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

We’ll have to wait and see how things progress over the coming days but it appears Saliba’s agent is in the UK so hopefully we see some developments over his future soon as I think he’d be an exciting long-term addition for either Arsenal or United.