Lille reportedly join Newcastle in the race to sign William Saliba on loan

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Newcastle will reportedly face strong competition if they want to sign William Saliba on loan from Arsenal this summer.

The French defender has been linked with a move to St James’ Park for a while now. However, the speculation has intensified with Arsenal seemingly on the brink of signing another centre-back.

The Gunners are reportedly close to signing Ben White from Brighton for £50million, which could force Saliba to leave the Emirates on loan once again.

Saliba joined Arsenal back in 2019 for £27million, but is yet to make his debut after loans at St Etienne and Nice.

It looks like the 20-year-old is set for a third loan move, but the big question is to where.

Can Newcastle really sign Saliba on loan ahead of Lille?

Newcastle were first linked with Saliba at the start of June by the Daily Mail.

Now the same publication have claimed the Magpies have competition from Lille.

According to the Daily Mail, the Ligue 1 champions are keen on signing Saliba temporarily.

Lille are in need of a centre-back, with Sven Botman and Jose Fonte linked with leaving.

They have a huge advantage over Newcastle, with Lille set to compete in next season’s Champions League.

If Saliba comes to Newcastle, he might get some minutes for the Under-23s in the Papa John’s Trophy if he’s lucky…

Or he can stay at Arsenal, who haven’t got any European football to look forward to. It would be strange to see him go to Lille, because if he’s good enough for a Champions League side, surely he’s good enough for the Gunners.

Regardless, it’s hard to see how Newcastle can compete with Lille. The only chance they’ve got is if Arsenal insist on Saliba getting Premier League experience.