Arsenal have beaten Chelsea, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and a bunch of other clubs to the punch for Riccardo Calafiori. The Italian central defender has agreed personal terms to join the north London club, meaning the Gunners may soon have their first major summer signing.
Now it is up to the clubs to figure out the transfer fee. If they do, Calafiori will move over on a five year deal.
???? Arsenal have agreed terms of Riccardo Calafioriโs contract, valid until June 2029.
Arsenal and Bologna are discussing over fee, as request remains around โฌ50m.
FC Basel would receive 50% of the sale over โฌ4.5m โ theyโre also aware of talks ongoing, nothing sealed yet. pic.twitter.com/NtdwpgJtwJ
โ Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 5, 2024
Bologna has reportedly already rejected one bid from Arsenal, of โฌ47m, for the 22-year-old. However, it doesn’t sound like the two clubs are really all that far apart in negotiations, so most likely this will get over the line before too long. It will be “medical” and “paperwork” time before too long.
However, there is a bit of caveat emptor here for Arsenal. Take a look below:
The injury list of Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori who has been linked to Arsenal this summer ?
(h/t @Transfermarkt) pic.twitter.com/w8YtuBltH1
โ ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) July 5, 2024
His injury history is certainly a bit of a red flag. However, he is young and he consistently recovers quickly.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
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