Arsenal as per now are very close to sign Ricardo Calafiori. The 22 year old defender is reported very close to join North London club. He has agreed personal terms too. The Premier League club is hoping to complete his signing soon. Bologna too are prepared to sell Calafiori. The Italian defender had the season of his life in 2023/24. Later, he was included in national team squad for Euro 2024. He was regular starter for Italy in Euros and was very crucial player. Mikel Arteta will be very happy to include Calafiori in his squad. However, AS Roma are trying to make it hard for Arsenal to sign Calafiori.
Ricardo Calafiori’s 2023/24 season
The 2023/24 season proved to be a breakout season for Calafiori. He helped Bologna achieve the Champions League qualification for the first time in history. The 22 year old defender played 30 Serie A games. He scored 2 goals along with providing 5 assists in league. Calafiori plays mainly as a centre back but is equally good as a left back too. His great form earned him a spot in Italy’s squad for Euro 2024. Calafiori continued to impress throughout the Euros. He started all of the three matches at group stage. Calafiori assisted an important last minute goal against Crotia. Without that goal Italy would have not qualified for knockout stage. However he missed the round of 16 clash against Switzerland due to suspension in which Italy got knocked out.
Arsenal close to sign Calafiori
The Gunners were very impressed by Calafiori’s performances. Mikel Arteta made Calafiori his top target. The former Roma defender too is reported to have agreed personal terms with Arsenal. In 2023/24 season, Arsenal were already the best defensive unit in Premier League. In addition, Calafiori will increase troubles for opposition teams. William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White and Calafiori are all central defenders. In addition, they will have Declan Rice and Jorginho in front of them. They maybe joined by Mikel Merino if the deal is completed.
Along with Arsenal several other teams were interested in Ricardo Calafiori. Real Madrid and Juventus were reportedly linked with Calafiori along with some other Premier League clubs. However, Calafiori has made his decision clear that he only wants to join Arsenal. The Gunners have already agreed a fee of £33.6 million with Bologna. However it could rise upto £37.8 million due to add-ons. In additon, Arsenal are set to offer Calafiori a five year contract.
Roma making it hard for Arsenal to sign Calafiori
Calafiori began his professional career at AS Roma in 2019. However he was not able to receive many chances. As a result he was sent on a loan to Genoa. However in 2022, FC Basel made an approach to sign Calafiori. During that time, Roma inserted a forty percent clause on his further sale value. This earned Roma £1.26 million when Basel sold Calafiori to Bologna for £3.4 million last year. In addition, Basel have added fifty percent sell-on clause. This will earn the Swiss club half of the money paid by Arsenal for Calafiori.
However, according to Gazzetta Dello Sport, Roma are demanding around £6.7 million for the fee paid by Arsenal. Roma believe that they still have the control over their clause with FC Basel. The lawyers of both the clubs are discussing about the situation. However they have not yet found any solution or came to conclusion. This situation may slow speed of Arsenal to get their hands on Calafiori. Mikel Arteta’s side will soon start their pre-season games. Gunners are set to face Premier League side Bournemouth in their first pre-season game. While the squad is busy preparing for the next season, the club will be busy in completing signing of Calafiori and announcing him soon in the Emirates stadium.
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