Marseille do not have an agreement in place to sign Arsenal centre-back William Saliba on a permanent basis at the end of his potential loan spell with the Ligue One side, according to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein.
There had been reports in France suggesting Marseille will have an option to buy for €10m (£8.6m) but Ornstein says that negotiations have not progressed to a point where a purchase clause has been discussed:
To my knowledge the situation has not moved on today — it’s still at a relatively early stage and I’m not aware of any option to buy. Even if there was it would never be as low as has apparently been reported
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) July 3, 2021
Supporters on Twitter are relieved that claims about Saliba’s potential permanent exit have turned out to be false:
GOOD??
— Mo (@MoAballa2407) July 3, 2021
Let’s hope it stays this way.
— ?? (@AfcNas) July 3, 2021
Good, genuinely hope he is viewed as important for the future.
— Adam Cooper (@AJ_Cooper95) July 3, 2021
As if we’d agree to an obligation of €10m, do me a favour
— Datjujuman (@datjujuman) July 3, 2021
70/80m as option to buy would be great ngl
— ???????? (@KaafirKieran) July 3, 2021
SIUUUUUU
— ??????? (@AfcZak__) July 3, 2021
Strange decision from the club to loan Him (Saliba) out AGAIN.
— Gooner (@LuckyStaarr) July 3, 2021
He shud be given a chance to prove him self. Maybe artera does not rate him
— Stephen close (@close0984) July 3, 2021
While Marseille are thought to be Saliba’s preferred destination, nothing has been finalised yet, so we shall see how the situation unfolds in the coming days.
One note of caution about Ornstein’s remarks, though. The reliable journalist did not explicitly rule out discussions about an option to buy in the future. He only clarified that it wasn’t part of negotiations currently.
