Newcastle United Showing Interest In This Arsenal Defender: Should Howe Get Him On Board?

In a recent tweet, French journalist Fabrice Hawkins mentioned that Newcastle United are showing interest in Arsenal defender William Saliba who is set to return from his loan spell at Olympique Marseille next month. It has been stated that the Magpies are locked in a three-way battle with Napoli and Atletico Madrid in pursuit of the French centre-back.

Bien qu’Arsenal souhaite conserver William #Saliba, Newcastle, Naples et l’Atlético Madrid sont intéressés.
Pablo Longoria et Jorge Sampaoli n’ont pas abandonné l’idée de le faire revenir.

— Fabrice Hawkins (@FabriceHawkins) May 26, 2022

Saliba’s Impressive Loan Spell In French Football

Saliba has enjoyed a decent loan spell in Marseille after managing to establish himself as a regular feature at the centre of their backline. The 21-year-old has made 51 appearances for the French side this season across all fronts.

The talented prospect has been a dominant figure on the defensive end of the field based on his average of 1.5 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 2.2 clearances per 90 minutes in Ligue 1. He has even been excellent when distributing the ball from the back as he has completed 93.1% of his attempted passes in top-flight football (stats via whoscored).

Should Newcastle United Boss Eddie Howe Get Saliba On Board?

Standing at 1.92m, Saliba can be a dominant presence inside his penalty box and usually wins his fair share of aerial duels for his team. He is a good tackler of the ball and can read the danger quickly to secure the ball back on the defensive third of the pitch.

The French youngster doesn’t mind putting his foot through the ball when required and excels at playing his way out from inside his half.

At 21, the future is quite promising for the Bondy-born defensive ace as long as he continues to take strides towards improving himself with each year. Someone of Saliba’s skill set and potential will be an excellent signing for the Magpies during this summer transfer window. He will add plenty of bite and steel to Newcastle‘s backline.

At such a young age, Saliba has already established himself as a top performer in French football and has got what it takes to challenge for a regular spot at St. James’ Park next season. Therefore, Eddie Howe would be wise to engineer a move to get the French whizkid on board ahead of the new campaign.