Saliba’s return to Saint-Etienne on loan collapses

William Saliba’s return to Saint-Etienne on loan from Arsenal has collapsed, as per Chris Wheatley of Gooner Talk.

Arsenal were prepared to send the young central defender out on loan and a move back to his former club in France seemed to be on the cards. Unfortunately, the move could not be completed ahead of the deadline. Saliba will now look to settle into the Arsenal squad and get some game time.

Saint-Etienne seemed to suggest that the Gunners did not complete the administrative work required to get this deal over the line in time. Arsenal have distanced themselves from these claims and feel they did everything that was necessary for this move to go through well ahead of the deadline, according to Sky Sports.

The North London side are of the view that this transfer was ready to be finalised and Saint-Etienne, who were the receiving club, were expected to submit their registration details first but they failed to do this.

This is not the first time the two clubs have clashed. They were involved in a disagreement over an extension to Saliba’s loan with the French club last season that would have seen him participate in the cup final against Paris Saint Germain. They failed to find an agreement and Saliba ended up missing the showpiece.