According to talkSPORT, Tottenham Hotspur tried to sign William Saliba from Saint-Etienne before the centre-back completed a move to their North London rivals.
Despite being just 22 years of age and having had only one full season in the Premier League, Saliba is already widely viewed as one of the best central defenders in English football.
The Frenchman is very much a modern-day defender – quick, mobile and as good as any on the ball, and it was arguably his addition to the Gunners backline that catapulted them to a title challenge.
That was perhaps proven by the fact that his absence with injury last season coincided with Mikel Arteta’s men crumbling towards the final stretch.
If talkSPORT’s latest update is to be believed, Saliba could have ended up on the other side of North London had things gone a little differently.
The outlet states that Tottenham explored a move for the Frenchman in the summer of 2019 after he had broken into the Saint-Etienne side the previous season.
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It is revealed that Manchester United also failed with an approach for Saliba that summer while the player knocked back a ‘late push’ from Spurs as he had made up his mind to join Arsenal, having supported the club as a boy.
Spurs Web Opinion
Arsenal’s dramatic rise from finishing outside the top four to becoming title contenders is evidence that it only takes one or two good additions to completely transform a side.
So, while Spurs might have looked miles away from the best sides in the division last season, a fit and firing Bissouma and a top centre-back (potentially Van de Ven?) could make us look like a completely different team.
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