Saliba has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League this summer after emerging as one of the most highly-rated defenders in French football having broken into the Saint-Etienne first team last season, writes Football Talk.
The 18-year-old was initially tipped to join Arsenal in a £27m deal but the Metro claim Tottenham tried to hijack their rivals move by submitting an improved bid and offering Saliba better contract terms.
However, the teenager’s preference was to join Arsenal and the Metro are citing a report from Peuple-Vert that claims the Gunners have now agreed terms with Saint-Etienne after increasing their initial offer.
The French publication says Arsenal will now pay just under £30m [€33m] for Saliba plus a further £6.3m [€7m] in add-ons meaning the deal could end up costing the north Londoners around £36m if the performance related bonuses are achieved.
It’s claimed by Peuple-Vert that Saliba will sign a five-year contract with Arsenal but will remain on loan at Saint-Etienne for next season before linking up with his new team in 12 months time.
Interestingly, the report also says Saint-Etienne have successfully negotiated a 20 per cent sell-on clause to be included in the contract so it sounds like the Ligue 1 outfit have got themselves an excellent deal.
However, Arsenal will also be pleased with their business as Saliba is a huge talent who should be a superb long-term replacement for Laurent Koscielny, once he eventually becomes an Arsenal player next summer.
