Arsenal under pressure to sort 22-year-old’s contract, bids could start coming in

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Arsenal may have to prepare to receive bids for defender William Saliba this summer if his contract situation isn’t resolved soon.

That’s according to journalist Charles Watts, speaking on his YouTube channel about the 22-year-old.

Arsenal are in the process of tying down some of their most important players to new deals.

Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes have already signed new contracts this season.

Bukayo Saka’s bumper new deal is virtually finalised, while Aaron Ramsdale is expected to double his wages when his contract is signed.

One player whose future at Arsenal doesn’t look so sure is William Saliba,

The Gunners have been trying to tie the French international down to a new contract for some time.

The 22-year-old’s current deal expires next summer and so the Gunners are running out of time to finalise a renewal.

Watts has warned that Arsenal might have to start preparing to receive bids for Saliba in the summer.

He’s shared what time frame he thinks a deal needs to be agreed in to avoid a very tricky dilemma.

Arsenal needs to prepare for Saliba bids this summer

Speaking about the centre-back contract situation, Watts said: “Saliba’s the most pressing one, he’s only got a year left on his contract in the summer, so just 12 months left on his deal.

“And there’s going to be lots of clubs keeping a very close eye on that because all the talk is about timing.

“But, the clock is ticking when it comes to William Saliba because you can’t really end this summer without Saliba having signed a new contract.

“You can’t go into the new season, surely, with Saliba less than 12 months away from the end of his current deal.

“It’s almost sort of an elephant-in-the-room type situation with Saliba, no one really wants to talk about it.

“If this contract doesn’t get six weeks, two months before everyone comes back for pre-season, then Arsenal are going to have a big decision to make.

“There are lots of clubs sniffing around and thinking, ‘you know what, he’s got 12 months left on his deal, he’s this almost generational quality defender which he’s proven in the Premier League this season, can we get him on the cheap?’

“Bids are going to start coming in for William Saliba this summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal pretty quickly, and that’s going to leave Arsenal with a decision to make.”

TBR View – Saliba contract more important than new signings

There are very few defenders playing who have reached the same level as William Saliba this season.

It’s not a coincidence that Arsenal’s season started to fall apart when he was injured against Sporting.

His entourage might be playing the long game and trying to get the best deal possible from Arsenal.

Saliba is in a position of power knowing the world’s best clubs will be considering submitting bids to Arsenal if his future isn’t resolved soon.

Edu has plenty to work on this summer, with several big deals on the horizon.

However, it’s hard to see the next transfer window being considered a success if the 22-year-old is allowed to leave.