The Gunners who landed William Saliba last summer and then loaned him back to the Ligue 1 outfit have now got their eye on Fofana. Marseille born Fofana, 19, has come through the ranks at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard and made 14 first-team appearances this season.

Related articles Man Utd discover Jadon Sancho transfer demand, Chelsea swap deals Arsenal in talks to sell Aubameyang as transfer fee emerges He has attracted scouts from several Premier League clubs with the Gunners as well as Everton keen to sign him.

Saint-Etienne head coach, the former Leicester City and Southampton boss Claude Puel knows that he is struggling to keep hold of his best young talent.

But he is hoping to strike another deal that will see Fofana sold but then loaned back to them for another season to continue with his development.

Italian giants AC Milan are also interested in Fofana who is keen on a move to the Premier League.

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Arsenal news: The Gunners could land their next William Saliba (Image: GETTY) A lot has been made of Saliba's future at Arsenal, with Gunners hero Kevin Campbell claiming the defender will go straight into the line up.

He said: "We made a very astute signing last year which many gave the club stick for: Saliba.

"At least we’ve got a centre half, a big, strong, quick, centre half who is going to go straight into that side. He has to.

"Do we need another one? Yes we probably do. Will we get one? Who knows?

"If we can get Saliba in and bed him in nicely then at least the defence is a lot younger and is a lot stronger."

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Arsenal news: Wesley Fofana could join (Image: GETTY) READ MORE Arsenal hero Cesc Fabregas reveals transfer regret over Gunners exit Mikel Arteta has revealed he's already putting Arsenal's summer transfer plans in place.

"We have to plan and we need to know the direction we want to head in and we need to bear in mind different scenarios," Arteta said.

"I have to tell the club what we need, where we think we can improve and where we want to end.

"And if we all end with the same thing, we put a plan together to try and execute it and make the process as short as possible."