Newcastle wanted William Saliba last year, now he’s Ligue 1 YPOTY

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Had things gone differently, William Saliba would be preparing to see his parent club Arsenal take on his loan side Newcastle tonight.

But instead, he’s celebrating after last night’s Ligue 1 awards.

The defender has spent the season at Marseille, and his performances earned him a nomination for the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award.

The ceremony took place last night, with Kylian Mbappe being named Ligue 1 Player of the Year ahead of reported Toon target Lucas Paqueta.

But while Bruno Guimaraes’ best mate missed out on his award, Saliba was top of the pile in his category. The 21-year-old was named Young Player of the Year ahead of Newcastle-linked Arnaud Kalimuendo, Castello Lukeba, Nuno Mendes and Khephren Thuram.

It’s the perfect end to the season for Saliba, who was also named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year. However, he could have followed a very different path had he joined Newcastle last summer instead.

Steve Bruce wanted William Saliba at Newcastle last summer

Last summer was an absolute nightmare for Newcastle. There was no takeover progress and a very small transfer kitty.

Steve Bruce was desperate for a new centre-back to arrive, but saw moves for the likes of Kristoffer Ajer collapse. And another deal that failed to go through was for Saliba.

The Daily Mail reported in June that the Magpies wanted to sign the defender on loan from Arsenal.

A temporary move for the £27million man wasn’t particularly enticing at the time. It looked like a short-term solution to a long-term problem. However, he still would have been a welcome arrival given our lack of quality at the back.

Instead, Saliba went back to France and joined Marseille for the season. As for Newcastle, they ended the window with no new centre-backs. They had to wait for a takeover, a new manager and a returning local hero to fix their defensive woes.

Luckily for us, Dan Burn has been excellent. However, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had Saliba joined the Magpies.

He’s certainly one for the future, and perhaps a successful loan at St James’ Park could have inspired him to join the club permanently. That certainly would have been possible given our newfound wealth.

It’ll always be a case of ‘what if’ with Saliba, who is set to return to Arsenal this summer.