Arsenal have completed the signing of French centre-back William Saliba. (Twitter)Arsenal have completed the signing of French centre-back William Saliba from St Etienne on a long-term contract, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
As part of the deal, Saliba will return to the Ligue 1 side next season on loan before heading to the Emirates Stadium in 2020.
No financial details were disclosed, but British media reports said the fee for the 18-year-old was about 27 million pounds ($33.62 million) to be paid in instalments.
“We’re delighted William is joining us,” Arsenal manager Unai Emery said in a statement. “Many teams wanted him, but he decided he wanted to come to us and be part of our future.
“He will stay in France next season for more experience and then we look forward to him joining our group.”
Saliba, who signed his first contract at the age of 17, made his professional debut with St Etienne against Toulouse last September and finished the campaign with 14 league starts
under his belt.
“This is the biggest club in England for me, so it was an easy decision,” Saliba said. “I didn’t think twice about signing here, so I’m really happy.
“This is a big club, and when you come here, you need to be ready. So I’m going to try to have a great season with the club that developed me in order to be ready for Arsenal.”
Arsenal sign Real Madrid midfielder Ceballos on loan
Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos has joined Arsenal on a season-long loan deal from Real Madrid, the clubs said on Thursday.
Ceballos, who helped Spain’s Under-21 side win the European Championship title last month, has made 56 appearances for Real Madrid in all competitions since arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium from Real Betis in 2017.
The 22-year-old is expected to fill the void left by Aaron Ramsey in Unai Emery’s Arsenal squad following the Welshman’s move to Juventus at the end of his contract.
“We’re excited to see Dani join us. He is a talented player with big technical ability, creativity and precision,” Emery said in a statement https://www.arsenal.com/news/holadani-ceballos-joins-us-loan.
British media had reported that Tottenham Hotspur were also interested in signing Ceballos, who made 13 Liga starts for Madrid last season but failed to nail down a first-team spot.
“I knew I had the confidence of the coach, which was very important for me from the start,” Ceballos said.
“I was aware of the responsibility that wearing this shirt entails and it was a tremendously proud moment when I decided to join Arsenal.”
