Andrea Berta has responded to Real Madrid’s attempts to unsettle William Saliba by earmarking him as a priority transfer target.
The Arsenal transfer chief is facing a monumental summer during which he will be expected to oversee a largescale rebuilding project as well as tie the club’s key players to new long-term deals.
France international Saliba is regarded as one of Mikel Arteta’s crown jewels but the prospect of him leaving has been raised as a consequence of a contract that expires in 2027 and the prospect of another trophyless season.
The Real PR machine has been cranking up in recent weeks with Marca branding the 24-year-old as the ‘chosen one’, charged with the responsibility of underpinning a new-look defence.
Having been eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage and looking likely to finish below Barcelona in La Liga, the Spanish giants are keen to inject some new blood in the heart of their defence with both Antonio Rudiger now 32 and Eder Militao recovering from a second cruciate knee ligament injury in the space of 12 months.
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Berta, meanwhile, is well versed in the mechanics of Real’s transfer strategy as a consequence of his time with Atletico and, according to L’Équipe, is far from panicked by their public courtship.
Indeed, the new Arsenal sporting director, who took over from Edu last month, has instigated fresh contract talks with a player who is currently minded to stay with the club he supported as a boy.
Fresh contract talks have already begun and Arsenal remain hopeful that Saliba will commit his future to Arsenal.
Speaking about his own future ahead of last month’s Champions League tie against the clue who covet him, Saliba said: ‘I am really happy here.
‘I want to continue here. Not yet [talks over a new deal], there is no rush. I am happy here. That’s it.’
Arteta, meanwhile, attempted to play down any suggestion Saliba could be tempted by a move to the Spanish capital when he spoke ahead of last weekend’s defeat against Bournemouth.
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‘Those kind of things are more for Andrea and the club to talk about,’ he said.
‘What I’m certain, because I had the conversation with him, is that he is so happy here, that he wants to continue with us and what will happen in the future with our negotiations and things that have to take time and process and be on top of them.
‘But I’m quite confident that William is very happy here and that’s the place that he wants to be.’