Real Madrid ‘ask Arsenal’ about William Saliba after defender compared to Thiago Silva

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Real Madrid are reportedly among a short list of clubs interested in signing William Saliba from Arsenal and Los Blancos are said to have reached out to the Gunners to sound out the defender’s availability. The 20-year-old France Under-21 captain was sent back to his homeland to Marseille for a third loan spell in Ligue 1 last summer after already enjoying stints with Saint-Etienne and Nice.

Saliba has not been deemed ready for Arsenal’s first-team as of yet by manager Mikel Arteta, who is yet to pick the centre-back since replacing Unai Emery in the hot-seat.

However, Saliba continues to earn rave reviews for his performances in France, which has seen Arsenal’s judgement of the player repeatedly thrown into question.

Now he is attracting interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Inter Milan, meaning Arsenal could be faced with offers for the 6ft 4′ defender by the time he returns to north London.

According to Italian outlet Calciomercato, Real Madrid have asked Arsenal about Saliba as they eye a move at the end of the season.

Arteta is understood to be biding his time on the young Frenchman and wants to reassess the situation in the summer.

The loan departure of Pablo Mari and permanent sale of Calum Chambers means Arsenal are currently light on the ground at centre-back.

It’s an area they will need to readdress in the summer when the transfer window reopens.

Former Arsenal academy star Stephy Mavididi – who is now flourishing at Montpellier in France – believes Saliba is easily ready to play for Arsenal now, namedropping him as one of the best defenders he’s ever faced.

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Arteta is understood to be biding his time on the young Frenchman and wants to reassess the situation in the summerlay with. I then arrived, I didn’t play any games, I played with the Under-23s. It gave me a good slap.”

He told LiveScore: “That guy’s a player. He’s hands down one of the best defenders in the league, hands down.

“I think he’ll walk back into the Arsenal team next season.

“When I played against him I thought ‘How is this guy not playing at Arsenal?’ He’s strong, good on the ball, he reads the game well.

“He’s one of the best centre-backs I’ve faced.

“Everyone can talk about Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Jerome Boateng, but he’s up there.

“He’s the one that surprised me the most. I’m an Arsenal fan too and playing against Saliba I thought ‘we’ve got a very decent defender here!'”

Saliba recently described being overlooked by Arteta as “a good slap.”

He told RMC Sport in France: “Before going to Arsenal, I said to myself that I was going to play, I was convinced I would, I wondered who I was going to play with. I then arrived, I didn’t play any games, I played with the Under-23s. It gave me a good slap.”

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