Arsenal have made their first move to secure William Saliba's long-term future.
Having signed a four-year contract in the summer of 2019 after completing a £27million transfer from Saint-Etienne, the 21-year-old is now into the final few months of his deal - meaning he could leave for free at the end of the season which would be a massive blow for the Gunners.
However, as previously reported by football.london, Arsenal can trigger the option to extend Saliba's contract by a further 12 months - taking it to the summer of 2024 instead - and it would be a major surprise if the club do not exercise their right to do so given how impressive the Frenchman has been at the start of the season.
READ MORE: William Saliba ‘focused’ on Arsenal as Mikel Arteta prepares title aim to convince him to stay
To the north London outfit's credit, they have made it clear that they want to hold on to the central defender past 2024. Just last month it was confirmed that discussions over a new deal were underway: "Yeah, we will see. They [Arsenal and my agent] talk a little bit," Saliba told the Evening Standard after the north London Derby win over Tottenham Hotspur.
"[When I spoke with Arteta in the summer], he talked about my last season and he explained the project for this season. You have to wait every time and I wait a long time for my first north London derby. I enjoyed it since the first minute to the end, and now I am so happy. We are so happy to win at home against Tottenham. It was a hard game, but we were focused all the game. We deserve this win."
Now fresh developments, as per The Athletic, claim that an official offer from Arsenal to Saliba has been made and it just remains to be seen if the France international follows in the footsteps of central defensive partner Gabriel Magalhaes by committing his future to the club.
In addition, the report states that although there has been no agreement so far, the dialogue will continue between the two parties as the Gunners aim to tie down a player who has quickly established himself as a key part of Arteta's vision - and a defender who has many admirers across Europe.
It may have taken three years and a number of loan spells in France for the defender to kick-start his career in north London, but it has been well worth the wait as he has been one of the main reasons why Arsenal sit top of the Premier League table after 12 games played.
Should Saliba sign a new Arsenal contract and there's an official announcement before next summer's transfer window then the defender can perhaps look forward to wearing No.2 on the back of his shirt next season as well as joining the club's leadership group as some fans to think Arteta has another future captain in the ranks.
It's also worth pointing out that head of football operations Richard Garlick, whose main role entails negotiating contracts with both existing and new players, will be tasked with ensuring an agreement is reached with Saliba to allow the defender to continue flourishing at Arsenal.
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