Journalist: Xavi will pursue Arsenal star if he fails to sign £69,000-a-week Tottenham target

According to Gerard Romero, Barcelona will pursue Arsenal defender William Saliba if they fail to sign Tottenham target Jules Kounde.

What’s the story?

Well, this is a story that should concern both Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte.

It was said that Spurs led the race to sign Kounde, although the France international then agreed a four-year contract with Barcelona, according to some sources.

However, it remains to be seen if the Spanish giants can actually afford to sign Kounde, with Chelsea willing to spend £55m to sign the 23-year-old.

If Thomas Tuchel – or Conte – manage to take the £69,000-a-week man away from Xavi’s clutches, then it will seemingly have an impact on Arsenal and Saliba.

Romero believes the £27m defender – who has only just returned from a season on loan at Marseille – is on Barcelona’s shortlist of alternatives to Kounde.

Behind Saliba, Milan Skriniar, Joško Gvardiol, Inigo Martinez and Roger Ibañez are also on Xavi’s radar.

Despite joining from Saint-Etienne in 2019, Saliba is yet to make a competitive appearance for Arsenal, having spent time on loan at Saint-Etienne, OGC Nice and Marseille since Unai Emery brought him to north London.

Barcelona should forget about taking Saliba from Arsenal

In our view, there is no way Arteta allows Saliba to leave the Emirates Stadium on a permanent basis.

Arsenal have just spent the last three years helping the 21-year-old develop into a better player, with Arteta recently claiming that the France international has “evolved” during his time on loan.

Therefore, we cannot fathom a scenario in which the Gunners allow him to depart, with the exception of a club-record offer arriving on their doorstep.

Given Barcelona’s financial issues, we doubt they’ll be able to make such a bid – if we were advising Barcelona this summer, we’d suggest moving onto the other names on their shortlist.
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