William Saliba and his move to Marseille.

Image from Getty Images

William Saliba in 2019, was seen as one of the biggest defensive prospects in the world at the age of just 19, for St. Etienne.

A calm presence and a ball playing centre back, Saliba throughout that years summer transfer window was in the middle of North London clash, over the signature of the youngster.

Arsenal were the ones who beat Tottenham for the signature, in a deal reported to be worth £27 million deal.

One of the terms of that deal was that Saliba would remain a player in France, for Les Verts. Another solid season for St Etienne, where he helped his side reach a first Coupe De France final since 1982. Meanwhile the Gunners struggled massively finishing 8th in the league in comparison however similar to St Etienne they also made it to the final of the F.A Cup which they won their record 14th F.A Cup.

Saliba despite being a key part of St Etienne, with a COVID disputed season it meant that Arsenal controversially called back Saliba back from his former club despite the cup final. St Etienne would end up losing the final in a 1-0 win for PSG.

In what many Arsenal fans anticipated to be Saliba’s debut season, the first half of the 2020-21 season ended up being a rather frustrating one for the youngster.

Mostly limited to playing in U21 matches for Arsenal, many fans were left confused as to why Mikel Arteta had left out the French centre back. Off the pitch Saliba had endured tragedy with both his parents dying, which didn't help him.

The second half of last season saw Saliba thrive back on loan in France this time, swapping St Etienne for the French Riviera and Nice. There Saliba thrived in a solid partnership with Jean Clair Todibo, as they helped guide Nice from 12th in the league to a respectable 9th including a winner against Lyon in 3-2 win.

Yet again this season Saliba, now 20 years old, has impressed yet again with Marseille getting multiple plaudits for performances including an impressive clean sheet keeping out Neymar, Mbappe and Messi against PSG. In the South coast with Marseille, currently sitting 4th in Ligue 1 as they hope to get back into the Champions League.