On Wednesday morning, transfer guru Fabizio Romano reported on the in-demand Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori. Per his tweet on twitter/x, Arsenal have presented their project/proposal to Calafiori and his representatives with the player open to joining the London-based club, if a deal can be reached between Arsenal and Bologna. Calafiori’s market value is currently 30 million euros, but after a strong showing at the EURO’s, that’s bound to go up, possibly to 50 million euros with FC Basel to receive 40-50% of the sell-on fee. The list of potential suitors have been among Europe’s elite. Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham have all sniffed around with the latter four clubs moving on to other targets. Italian giants, Juventus, reached an agreement over personal terms with the player prior to the beginning of EURO ’24, but, inexplicably, decided to negotiate with Bologna over a transfer fee after the summer tournament. Big mistake. Calafiori’s price is now out of reach for The Old Lady. Juve also recently poached manager Thiago Motta away from Bologna, who he coached to their highest point total in the club’s history and got them qualified into the Champions League for 2024/25. His departure caused issues between Bologna and Juventus, complicating any transfer dealings between the two. Giovanni Sartori, the Rossoblu’s Sporting Director said, “I don’t think he will go to Juventus, it will probably be abroad, but I repeat we will try to keep him.“

On the Arsenal front, it’s been very quiet regarding transfers. There have been rumors swirling around the ‘9’ position with Benjamin Šeško, Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyökeres all linked, but nothing concrete. A new midfielder to pair with Declan Rice has been discussed, but no names rumored outside of German international Joshua Kimmich. A new left-footed defender also has to be on Mikel Arteta’s wish-list, as, at times, Arsenal had to use a natural right-footed player on the left last season. Bringing in a versatile, slick-passing, ball-carrying defender such as Riccardo Calafiori would be a no-brainer, even if the fee seems high for a squad rotational player. The Italian is only 22-years old and has room for improvement, both physically and technically, so him maturing into a starting role is not out of the question. And who know, maybe he hits the ground running and breaks into the XI in his first season.