Saint-Etienne are stalling on agreeing to sell William Saliba, amid offers from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur for the teenage defender.
It had appeared that Saliba would be Arsenal bound, but Tottenham recently appeared on the scene and lodged a bid of €30m excluding bonuses, with terms better than those the Gunners put forward.
Arsenal have now responded by matching Tottenham's bid for Saliba, but Saint-Etienne are in no mood to push through the transfer just yet.
According to French radio station RMC, Saint-Etienne are delaying matters in order to see if either club will now make a higher bid.
They are in no rush to sell Saliba and believe Arsenal or Tottenham could yet lodge an improved offer, as a battle between the north London clubs breaks out.
The Ligue 1 side are also keen to speak to Saliba.
They want to assess if Saliba has a preference over which could he would like to join.
Regardless of to which club Saliba is sold to however, Saint-Etienne want him back for the whole of next season on loan.
