Real Madrid's transfer plan for William Saliba has supposedly been revealed, and Los Blancos have not given up hope of signing the Arsenal man as a free agent in two years' time.
The France international was part of a Gunners side that tore Real Madrid to shreds in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, as Mikel Arteta's men crushed the European champions 3-0.
Saliba and co will head to the Bernabeu next Wednesday with the intention of finishing the job, whereas Carlo Ancelotti's side will be bidding to emulate Barcelona's famous remontada against Paris Saint-Germain from 2017.
The second leg in Madrid could potentially act as Saliba's Bernabeu audition, as the 24-year-old has long been linked with a marquee move to Real Madrid as Ancelotti aims to freshen up his defence.
Saliba will have entered the last two years of his Arsenal contract by the time the summer rolls around, but the Gunners are expected to enter talks with his representatives over a renewal in due course.
Real holding out hope for free Saliba transfer?
© Imago
However, The Athletic claims that Real Madrid are planning to either sign Saliba on the cheap in 2026 or as a free agent in the summer of 2027, thus banking on the 2001-born Frenchman not renewing at the Emirates.
Los Blancos were supposedly contenders to sign Saliba from Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2019 before he chose Arsenal, but the 15-time European champions have maintained a close relationship with the defender's camp and are 'most keen' on a deal for him over any other centre-back.
Real have seemingly accepted that a summer swoop ahead of the 2025-26 season is 'highly unlikely', but they will 'discreetly' keep close contact with Saliba and lay the groundwork for a cut-price deal in one or two summers' time.
The Madrid giants employed the exact same strategy to sign Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, and they were expected to do the same with Alphonso Davies before he penned a new deal with Bayern Munich.
Saliba recently insisted that he was "really happy" at Arsenal when asked about his contract situation, stressing that there is "no rush" to enter talks over a renewal while he still has a little over two years left on his terms.
The 24-year-old has produced seven goals and two assists from 125 appearances for Arsenal, having previously spent time on loan with Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille before finally being given a chance under Arteta.
How can Arsenal thwart Real Madrid's Saliba transfer plan?
© Imago
Win a trophy.
The formula to keep Saliba really is simple on paper, as the 24-year-old will have been a fully-fledged Arsenal player for three years come the end of the season, but he only has two Community Shields to show for it right now.
The Gunners will not be dethroning Premier League champions-elect Liverpool without a miracle in the final few weeks, but they are in an excellent position to progress to the Champions League semi-finals and potentially even further.
Contract renewals with Saliba and other players out of contract in 2027 - Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes - will be made a lot easier if the Gunners can claim a shock UCL triumph this year, but if not, 2025-26 is surely make or break.
Arteta would have had control of the reins for six full seasons by next summer, and while Arsenal's progress under his wing has been astounding, now is the time to show the players that they can win the biggest honours rather than accepting the silver medal time and time again.
Ben Knapton
