Arsenal ‘now very close’ to landing Serie A star as he prepares to ‘fly’ to England

Arsenal are now closing in on a deal for Bologna centre-back Riccardo Calafiori after the transfer was ‘unblocked’, according to reports.

It was understood 12 days ago that a deal was just around the corner for the Italy international with one report claiming at the time that a transfer would be completed ‘within 24-48 hours’.

However, a deal has taken a little longer because of Bologna’s attempts to get Basel to reduce their 50 per cent sell-on clause in Calafiori’s deal to bring him to the Serie A side just 12 months ago.

It is now understood that Arsenal are ‘very close’ to completing a deal with his agent unblocking the deal after weeks of negotiations.

Sky Sport Italy wrote on Saturday :

‘And Arteta’s team is now very close to taking him on the basis of an agreement of 50 million euros (the final package). The negotiation was unblocked in the last few hours thanks to the work of the agent Alessandro Lucci who, in these days of apparent calm, has contributed to bringing the needs of the two clubs closer together. The final details are now being discussed: bonuses and percentages.’

A deal to bring Calafiori – who impressed at Euro 2024 with Italy – has been praised by two former Arsenal players with Bacary Sagna and Emmanuel Petit happy to see the Gunners’ interest.

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Sagna told Paddy Power : “Riccardo Calafiori is very good – I’ve followed him a lot in Serie A this season. I’ve seen a lot of Bologna games, and he’s one of the reasons they were able to qualify for the Champions League.

“He’s calm and composed on the ball – he can break lines by committing and help the side out offensively.  He’d be a fantastic player for Arsenal – any club he would join, he would be a fantastic addition.”

Petit told Gambling.com : “I think one of the main reasons Italy lost in the last 16 is because Calafiori didn’t play due to suspension. I really like this player.

“He is very good with the ball, is very intelligent without the ball and he can play different positions. He has got the fighting spirit, and is a great character with personality on the pitch so I think he could be an interesting target for Arsenal.

“He’s got the leadership and confidence for sure. I watched him closely in the tournament and you could see he was so focused on what he had to do.

“Another interesting one for Arsenal could be the Turkish left wing-back, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, who I’ve heard the club are interested in. He is good with the ball, has a great mentality and is always fighting until the end. He brings a lot of energy on the pitch.”