According to multiple reports coming from different outlets in France, Patrick Vieira is in full support of French club Nice’s desire to snap up William Saliba from Premier League outfit Arsenal.
The Gunners only completed the signing of Saliba in the summer transfer window for a fee reported to be £27 million and have not yet utilized him in the team this season.
The 19-year-old was regarded as one of the top-rated young defenders in the French Ligue 1 last term, after putting in some strings of sublime performances for his former club Saint-Etienne last campaign.
The youngster is still yet to make his first-team debut for Arsenal since making the move in the summer and has been a regular fixture for the club’s Under-23 team this season instead. Head coach Mikel Arteta has heaped praises on Saliba but stated that he is not happy with the progress the young defender is making and sees it as a possibility for him to leave the club and go out on loan in January.
Saint-Etienne were willing to bring back Saliba to France on loan, but the offer was rejected by Arsenal and the player stayed put in London instead. However, But! Football Club in France reports that Nice have also registered an interest in taking the defender on loan.
Nice are currently under the management of former Arsenal player Vieira and he admires Saliba, insisting that the player will bring some more dimension to the defensive department at his club. Another important reason Nice want to sign Saliba is that they will be missing the presence of Dante for the rest of the season after the Brazilian defender suffered a season-ending knee ligament injury back in November.
Saliba would prefer a return to Saint-Etienne over a loan switch to Nice, but it’s not yet known if Arsenal want to let him go.