According to exclusive information from CaughtOffside, Arsenal has reached a transfer agreement worth 50-55 million Euros to Bologna to recruit defender Riccardo Calafiori.
Personal negotiations between Calafiori and the Gunners have also made significant progress, with a long-term contract until 2029 and a salary of 3.5 million Euros per season almost agreed upon.
Gianluca Di Marzio and Tancredi Palmeri reported that Calafiori received interest from both Chelsea and PSG, however, the Italian star was convinced by coach Mikel Arteta, when the Spanish coach not only expressed his wishes. wants to get him, but also offers a detailed plan of development roadmap for this individual player.
Calafiori is an important nucleus in coach Thiago Motta’s squad, contributing greatly to the victory that helped Bologna Club win tickets to the 2024-2025 Champions League.
This youthful prospect made an impression during the Italian team’s EURO 2024 campaign with both his clever defensive skill set and his versatility as an attacker.
Calafiori was the man who broke through in the middle, and he later helped Mattia Zaccagni score an injury-time equalizer for Italy against Croatia, which helped the blue team secure their spot in the tournament. EURO 2024 elimination round
Calafiori did not come to Arsenal just to add depth, Calafiori will most likely directly replace the player who can return to Italy, Jakub Kiwior.
With Oleksandr Zinchenko no longer a left-back in the starting lineup, and Jurrien Timber just returning from a ligament injury, Calafiori will take charge of the left wing.
Ben White was assigned the inside role like at the end of the season or like when Partey played RB at the beginning of the season, Arsenal could easily rotate into a back 3 depending on the deployment stage. It’s just that Mikel Arteta is looking for a better quality person.
