Arsenal take immediate action to STOP William Saliba from joining Real Madrid

 Arsenal have hatched a plan to stop William Saliba from leaving for Real Madrid, with a report revealing how much the Gunners are willing to pay the central defender, as Los Blancos are said to be willing to offer £115.5million for a Germany international star.

Saliba has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League and is one of the first names on the Arsenal teamsheet. One of the major reasons why the Gunners have become regular challengers for the league title is because of the France international’s formidable partnership with Gabriel at the heart of Mikel Arteta’s team.

With Eder Militao and David Alaba having injury problems and Antonio Rudiger in his 30s, Madrid are on the hunt for a new centre-back and have identified Saliba as “an absolute priority”.

There have been reports that Madrid have already been in contact with Saliba’s entourage and are willing to pay a world-record transfer fee for a defender.

According to TBR, Arsenal have now responded to Madrid’s interest in Saliba by planning to open talks with the 23-year-old centre-back over a new deal.

The Gunners, who are aiming to beat Liverpool to the Premier League title this season, are ready to reward Saliba “with a significant pay increase and put him close to £250,000-a-week”.

The report has noted that such a pay-hike would see Saliba put “in the same category as the likes of Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and the club’s highest paid player Kai Havertz”.

Arsenal are reportedly confident that Saliba can be convinced to sign a new deal and turn down the chance to move to Los Blancos.

The Gunners’ plan is to open talks with the defender in the coming months with a view to getting the paperwork sorted before the start of next season.

Saliba has made a total of 90 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. The defender has scored six goals, given two assists and kept 39 clean sheets in those games.

Real Madrid eye £115.5m move for Florian Wirtz

Florian Wirtz is one of the best young playmakers in Europe and has been superb for Bayer Leverkusen for a number of years.

Wirtz has scored 15 goals and given 13 assists in 37 matches in all competitions for Bayer so far this season.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder scored 18 goals and provided 20 assists in 49 appearances last season, as Bayer won the Bundesliga title.

According to Fichajes, Madrid are one of the clubs who are keen on a deal for Wirtz and are ready to pay Bayer his asking price of £115.5million.

The report has claimed that Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United are also interested in signing Wirtz in the summer transfer window.

Latest Real Madrid news: Martin Zubimendi race, Brahim Diaz contact

Madrid are not giving up on signing Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad despite Arsenal pushing for a deal.

A Spanish report has claimed that Madrid believe that their “extraordinary” relationship with Sociedad will help them do a deal for Zubimendi.

Arsenal are determined to sign the Spain international midfielder and are in pole position for the Sociedad star.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are said to be looking for a potential replacement for Mohamed Salah.

Salah is out of contract at the Premier League leaders at the end of the season.

While talks between the Egyptian superstar and the Reds are ongoing, there is the distinct possibility that he could leave Anfield as a free agent.

A Spanish report has revealed that Liverpool are in contact over a deal for Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz.

While Diaz is an important player for Madrid, the Morocco international winger is not guaranteed a place in the defending Spanish and European champions’ starting line-up.

Meanwhile, Madrid could find it hard to sign Murillo from Nottingham Forest in the summer transfer window.

Murillo is one of the defenders that Madrid are looking at signing this summer, but Forest do not want to sell the Brazilian.

With Forest also in the running for the Premier League top four, Murillo himself does not want to push for an exit from the City Ground.

There is also interest in Murillo from Liverpool, which means that Madrid will have to work very hard to get a deal done for the centre-back.