Surprisingly 5th in Serie A and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in its history, the transalpine club expected to be a victim of its success in this summer transfer window. Attacked from all sides, the team based in Emilia-Romagna said goodbye to Thiago Motta, the great architect of the Rossoblu’s exceptional run in the championship and who left for Juventus Turin once the season was over. Recently, Bologna also parted ways with its major attacking asset, Joshua Zirkzee, who was transferred to Manchester United for 42.5 million euros. In recent days, there was also talk of Riccardo Calafiori leaving.
A true revelation of the season in the colours of Bologna, the 22-year-old Italian defender has shone on the national scene by becoming indispensable to the Rossoblu rearguard. Appearing 33 times (including 27 starts) for 2 goals and 5 assists in all competitions with Bologna, the native of Rome logically won the favour of Luciano Spalletti to participate in Euro 2024 with Italy, then reigning European champion. Even if the Nazionale’s adventure in Germany turned into a nightmare, the transalpine international (5 caps) was considered one of the rare satisfactions of the Azzurri thanks to his defensive authority and great maturity.
FC Basel demands its share of the pie!
Qualities that have pushed Arsenal to take action. While the main player concerned, under the radar of Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen or even PSG, was insistently announced in the sights of Juventus Turin in recent weeks, the London club took the lead in securing the services of the versatile 22-year-old player, capable of playing in the center and on the left flank. Willing to offer 45 million euros, bonuses included, and to propose a contract covering five seasons with a salary estimated at 4 million euros per year, the Gunners had reached an agreement with Riccardo Calafiori.
But just as the English club seemed to be reaching their goal, the Sports Gazette reveals that the Italian’s transfer to the Emirates Stadium is currently at a standstill. The reason? Riccardo Calafiori’s former club, FC Basel, has frozen the transaction due to a financial dispute with Bologna. At the time when the Swiss club sold its nugget for €4 million in the summer of 2023, the residents of Parc Saint-Jacques had reached an agreement with their transalpine counterparts to recover 50% of a possible future transfer of the player. However, the Italian media specifies that the Rossoblu leaders refute this agreement, believing that they have greatly contributed to the Italian’s revaluation due to their excellent season. While waiting for the two clubs to find a solution to get out of the impasse, Riccardo Calafiori has resumed training with the Serie A resident, much to Arsenal’s dismay…
