Saliba Real Madrid, Eze links

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William Saliba’s name is constantly being mentioned in the same breath as Real Madrid. That’s been the case for the past couple of years and it’s going to continue to be the case going forward.

And that’s no real surprise is it? Because let’s face it, he’s the best young centre-back in the world. To be honest, there’s a pretty strong argument to say that he is already the best centre-back in the world full stop.

So of course he’s going to be linked with Madrid, PSG and every other top side in Europe. Who wouldn’t want William Saliba at their club?

I don’t know how strong Madrid’s interest is in Saliba, but he’ll be on the radar, just as he will be for the other clubs that I’ve mentioned. If you were a sporting director at a top club and you weren’t keeping tabs on Saliba’s career and how things are going at Arsenal then you wouldn’t be doing your job right.

But that doesn’t mean he’s going anywhere soon. Arsenal worked very hard to secure Saliba to a new contract just 14 month ago and that deal still has three years left to run.

So there is no need to panic and Saliba is very, very happy at Arsenal. If I was Edu though, I would already be putting in the groundwork when it comes to Saliba’s next contract. Because the pace of his rise towards the very top of the game demands that Arsenal have to keep up.

I’ll be perfectly honest and admit that I don’t see Saliba being a one club man. He’s not come through the ranks at Arsenal. He may have followed them as a boy in France, but he doesn’t have an undying loyalty towards them.

So I’m sure at some point he will want to try something new and when that time comes he will no doubt have the pick of which top club to join.

But Saliba is still just 23 and Arsenal have to make sure they have him for a fair while yet. Yes, he still has three years left on his deal, but his performances and growing stature within the game will dictate the need for improving those terms pretty soon.

You don’t want to get into a scenario where Saliba has just 18 months left on his contract, like he did last time. You want to make sure you are protected to avoid giving any interested clubs a stronger hand…