- Gunners forward catching the eye
- Starring for club and country
- Valuation is set to rise
WHAT HAPPENED? The Arsenal forward has emerged as one of the most exciting talents in world football, with the England international registering 11 goals and nine assists for the Premier League-leading Gunners this season. At 21 years of age he is already considered to have a nine-figure price tag, but Gallas believes such valuations are spiralling out of control as the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo never moved for so much money.
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WHAT THEY SAID: Former Arsenal defender Gallas has told Genting Casino: “I always have a problem with the value of a player. If Saka already costs £100 million ($119m) at 21 years old and he carries on developing at the rate he is now, how much will he be in five years? £300 or £400 million ($478m)? Come on, come on. This is getting ridiculous! Sometimes clubs are very clever because everybody is desperate to sign players for big fees, but sometimes these players disappear. I don’t want to see a player like Saka, who is a really good young player who is improving every game, disappear in a few years.
“Don’t put too much pressure on his shoulders, that always comes from the media and you never know what that impact will be on the players. You need to give players time to prove, to get more experience, to be strong, to deal with all that pressure on their shoulders. Cristiano Ronaldo was very strong when he moved to Real Madrid from Manchester United, but he had already won a Ballon d’Or. His value was around £80 million ($96m) and that was his real value. Nowadays, £100 million players haven’t won anything yet! So that is why I have a problem with it.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Saka, who is a product of Arsenal’s famed academy system, made his senior debut for the north London outfit in November 2018 and is now up to 166 appearances for the club – finding the target on 34 occasions.
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Saka has also earned 24 caps for England, helping them to the final of Euro 2020, and is expected to sign a new contract with Arsenal at some stage in the near future as his current deal at Emirates Stadium is due to expire in 2024.
