Saliba's rise shows value of planning as Chelsea mull over record-breaking Fofana
Cameron Smith
- 20 Aug 2022 19:30 BST
- 3 min read
William Saliba continued his excellent start to the 2022-23 Premier League season by netting his first Arsenal goal in a 3-0 romp over newly-promoted Bournemouth.
The France international curled a beautiful left-footed effort into the far top corner to open his account for the Gunners and back-up his impressive performances in the early stages of the campaign.
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The 21-year-old did score an unfortunate own goal in the 4-2 victory over Leicester City in the second game-week of the English top flight season, but it's been a seamless transition to life as a Premier League footballer for Saliba.
Of course, he made his competitive debut for the Gunners in the opening day draw away to Crystal Palace, two years after he initially signed for the club.
Arsenal bode their time with Saliba
After scouting him from then Ligue 1 side St Etienne, Arsenal paid €30 million to sign Saliba back in 2020, before sending him on loan spells back to France with Nice and Marsielle.
It was during the 2021-22 season with Marseille that Saliba established himself as one of Europe's most highly-rated centre-backs as he picked up the Ligue 1 Defender of the Season award ahead of the likes of PSG's Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe.
Now, Arsenal have a defender whose value is exponentially increasing and who would cost far more than the €30m paid in 2020 were they to have signed him this summer.
It shows the value of advanced planning as Arsenal have been able to save themselves a fortune and effectively be treated to a new signing this summer without purchasing him this window.
Chelsea's pursuit of Fofana
Unlike Arsenal, Chelsea did not have the foresight to sign a young French defender from St Etienne in 2020, and instead are looking to sign Wesley Fofana for a world-record fee for a defender.
Fofana and Saliba both left St Etienne in the same summer, with Leicester paying marginally more for Fofana (€35m) than Arsenal did for Saliba.
Fofana has been able to grow and develop at the King Power Stadium, which has tempted Chelsea into potentially breaking the record fee for a defender set by Manchester United's purchase of Harry Maguire.
If Chelsea had been clever and thinking for the future not the present, they could have signed Fofana straight from St Etienne, like Arsenal did with Saliba, and negated the stepping stone club and the ridiculous fee they'll now have to cough up to sign Fofana this summer.
It proves the value of smart scouting and how Arsenal saved themselves a fortune by pulling the trigger early after noticing Saliba's potential.
It does, however, seem like Chelsea have learned from this mistake with their dealings this window. Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei and Gabriel Slonina have all been signed with a view to integrating them into the first-team gradually after paying sizeable fees for players so young.
But, those fees may seem like bargains in a few years time, just like the €30m Arsenal paid for Saliba in 2020.
