Real Madrid hatch William Saliba transfer plan

Real Madrid are prepared to take a long-term approach to their pursuit of Arsenal centre-back William Saliba, a report has revealed.

Madrid's interest in Saliba is by no means new but signing the Frenchman is not going to be an easy task, with Arsenal prepared to demand a world-record fee to part ways with their defensive talisman this summer.

A reluctance to pay such a fee, coupled with Saliba's public insistence that he remains committed to Arsenal, has seen Madrid temporarily abandon a move, although they have not given up hope of luring him over to the Santiago Bernabeu in the future.

The Athletic state Madrid will adopt their usual approach to these blockbuster deals. They will remain close to Saliba's entourage and try and convince him to let his contract run down, setting up a discounted move in 2026 or perhaps even a free transfer in 2027.

This plan helped them land Kylian Mbappe last summer and has produced an agreement with Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold for a free transfer this year. It also eventually led to a deal to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea in the summer of 2019, albeit still a nine-figure fee.

That being said, it has not always yielded positive results. They missed out on Leny Yoro by refusing to match Manchester United's offer a year before his Lille contract was up. Overall, they haven't paid a fee to sign a centre-back since Eder Militao arrived from Porto in 2019.

Madrid also wanted Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies and felt confident of signing him on a free transfer at the end of the current season, but he has since ended the speculation by inking a new contract in Germany.

Arsenal will hope to see a similar outcome with Saliba, 24. New sporting director Andrea Berta has been tasked with thrashing out a handful of high-profile extensions, including centre-back partner Gabriel Magalhaes and forward duo Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri.

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