Arsenal improve renewal offer to key defender amid Real Madrid interest – Romano | OneFootball

Arsenal’s William Saliba has been seen as Real Madrid’s dream centre-back target for a long time now, but Mikel Arteta’s fondness for the player and his contractual situation have complicated any potential transfer.

Los Blancos have thus diversified their search and identified alternative targets including Ibrahima Konate, Dayot Upamecano and others, but Saliba still is one player the club would splash the cash on if any opportunity arises.

After all, the Frenchman is already a regular for both club and country at just 24 years of age and is seen as one of the best players in the world in his position.

A new obstacle

In light of Real Madrid’s obvious interest in the star defender, Arsenal have been attempting to renew the player’s contract for a while now.

As relayed by Fabrizio Romano now, Arsenal have improved their offer to Saliba and are offering him better terms than they insisted on before.

Saliba remains on Real Madrid’s radars. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

Arteta’s side do not want to go into the 2026 summer transfer window with one year left on his contract and thus risk losing him under pressure to negotiate.

Real Madrid continue to have Saliba on their radar and are keeping an eye on what happens after the latest proposal improvement. His decision to accept or reject the renewal offer will largely decide Los Blancos’ route ahead.

As it stands, the defender’s contract with the Premier League giants runs until the summer of 2027 and the club’s goal is to tie him down with a long-term deal. Such a move, however, will all but rule out any chance of a move to Real Madrid in the future.

So far this season, the 24-year-old has started all three of Arsenal’s games in the Premier League. While he completed 90 minutes in the first two games for the Reds, he was forced off injured just four minutes into the third game.