Arsenal's William Saliba in line to start for France in place of Raphael Varane

William Saliba is set to enhance his burgeoning reputation at the World Cup and is in line to start for the defending champions in their first game of the tournament on Tuesday against Australia.

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The Arsenal defender has been one of the outstanding performers in the Premier League this season, cementing his place at the heart of a Gunners defence that has underpinned the team’s ascent to the top of the table.

Saliba has already been capped seven times at senior level by France and now looks set to enhance his burgeoning reputation in Qatar given the ongoing concerns around the fitness of Manchester United’s Raphael Varane.

The former Real Madrid centre-half was named in Didier Deschamps’ 26-man squad despite nagging doubts about his fitness.

Varane hasn’t featured for United in just over a month when he left the Stamford Bridge pitch in tears, nursing a hamstring injury that looked to have put paid to his hopes of appearing at the World Cup.

The 29-year-old, according to L’Equipe, missed training on Friday and is unlikely to feature against the Socceroos.

While Arsenal will no doubt be delighted that their own promotion of Saliba, who had to wait three years to make his club debut following his signing from Saint Etienne, they will no doubt be mindful of his value spiraling in tandem with his contract nearing its expiration.

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