Bologna and Arsenal are said to have agreed to a deal for Riccardo Calafiori.

Flavio Romano said that the Gunners will pay €40m (£33.7m) plus €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons. The deal also includes a sell-on option.

When Arsenal tries to sign the defender, they don’t think that personal issues will come up.

Calafiori moved from Basel to Bologna last year for only £3.4 million. If he goes, Basel will get 50% of Bologna’s profit. Bologna and Basel need to agree on the terms of the sell-on payment. This is the last step in the deal.

Calafiori has five caps for Italy, three of which came at Euro 2024. He can play center back or left back.

 

Arsenal are reportedly close to agreeing a deal with Bologna for defender Riccardo Calafiori

Mikel Arteta wants to sign Calafiori because he can play a lot of different positions.

Because he was suspended, he missed Italy’s loss to Switzerland in the round of 16.

Calafiori has played 33 times for Bologna and helped the team make it to the Champions League for the first time.

Calafiori played in all three of Italy’s group stage games at Euro 2024.

The defender learned his trade at Roma, where he played 18 times as a senior. Before he signed with Basel in 2022, Calafiori also played on loan for Genoa.

David Raya is the only senior player Arsenal has signed so far this summer. The goalkeeper made the move from Brentford to Arsenal officially after being on loan there last season.

Arteta likes people who can do a lot of different things, so Calafiori’s ability to do many things could be very helpful for him.