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Real Madrid stance on William Saliba revealed after Dean Huijsen transfer
William Saliba has attracted interest from Real Madrid (Picture: Getty) Real Madrid still view Arsenal centre-back William Saliba as their dream target despite being close to finalising a deal for Dean Huijsen. The Spanish giants have made recruiting a centre-back one of their main priorities this summer after seeing many of the defenders sidelined with injuries this campaign. Huijsen has impressed greatly at Bournemouth this campaign and looked set to stay in the Premier League, with a host of big clubs interested in a deal. But the Spaniard always preferred a move to Real and now looks to have got his wish after they activated the £50million release clause within his contract. The 20-year-old is set to join Trent Alexander-Arnold as Real’s second defensive recruit, but the Spanish side are still keeen to make further additions to their backline. Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. Real had made Saliba their top priority for the summer window, with reports suggesting they had already made an approach to try and sign the Arsenal superstar. But despite still holding the Frenchman in high esteem, Fabrizio Romano suggests that Real are realistic that completing a swoop for Saliba this summer may prove difficult. Saliba has two years left on his current Arsenal deal (Picture: Getty) ‘My information is that Real Madrid understood at the beginning of May that [signing] William Saliba this summer was impossible,’ said Romano. ‘For Arsenal, he is a crucial player & they are discussing a new contract. ‘Arsenal will have the ball in their court to close the agreement, keep Saliba at the club & extend his contract. ‘Real Madrid’s position is clear — they will sign Dean Huijsen now, but Saliba remains a dream target for them.’ Dean Huijsen is close to signing for Real (Picture: Getty) Saliba will enter the final two years of his contract at the end of the season and Arsenal are keen for the 24-year-old to sign a new deal. Contract talks are said to be ongoing between both parties, and speaking earlier this month, Arteta struck a confident mood when asked about the prospects of an agreement being reached. ‘Those kind of things are more for Andrea and the club to talk about,’ said the Spaniard. ‘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.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Real Madrid still view Arsenal centre-back William Saliba as their dream target despite being close to finalising a deal for Dean Huijsen.
The Spanish giants have made recruiting a centre-back one of their main priorities this summer after seeing many of the defenders sidelined with injuries this campaign.
Huijsen has impressed greatly at Bournemouth this campaign and looked set to stay in the Premier League, with a host of big clubs interested in a deal.
But the Spaniard always preferred a move to Real and now looks to have got his wish after they activated the £50million release clause within his contract.
The 20-year-old is set to join Trent Alexander-Arnold as Real’s second defensive recruit, but the Spanish side are still keeen to make further additions to their backline.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Real had made Saliba their top priority for the summer window, with reports suggesting they had already made an approach to try and sign the Arsenal superstar.
But despite still holding the Frenchman in high esteem, Fabrizio Romano suggests that Real are realistic that completing a swoop for Saliba this summer may prove difficult.
‘My information is that Real Madrid understood at the beginning of May that [signing] William Saliba this summer was impossible,’ said Romano.
‘For Arsenal, he is a crucial player & they are discussing a new contract.
‘Arsenal will have the ball in their court to close the agreement, keep Saliba at the club & extend his contract.
‘Real Madrid’s position is clear — they will sign Dean Huijsen now, but Saliba remains a dream target for them.’
Saliba will enter the final two years of his contract at the end of the season and Arsenal are keen for the 24-year-old to sign a new deal.
Contract talks are said to be ongoing between both parties, and speaking earlier this month, Arteta struck a confident mood when asked about the prospects of an agreement being reached.
‘Those kind of things are more for Andrea and the club to talk about,’ said the Spaniard.
‘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.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
