Calafiori to Arsenal on hold but transfer WILL happen

Tom Weber

Updated: 17 Jul 2024 17:30 BST
4 min read

Arsenal will sign Riccardo Calafiori, but the deal is currently on hold, according to Italian media.

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The Gunners were looking to complete a swift deal for the 22-year-old defender after his impressive performances for Italy at Euro 2022. Calafiori has been one of Europe's biggest breakout stars of the past 12 months and Arsenal tried to quickly wrap up his signing.

After making rapid progress with the versatile Bologna man on personal terms, transfer talks have massively slowed down over the last week or so. Calafiori has his heart set on moving to the Emirates, which has deterred other suitors such as Chelsea, but Arsenal have yet to reach an agreement with their Serie A counterparts.

The problem is that Bologna and Basel continue to haggle over their respective slices of the cake, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. This story has now dragged on for so long that Calafiori, as confirmed by his club, is set to start pre-season with Bologna.

Calafiori to Arsenal on hold but not in doubt

The Italian outlet reports that progress on the deal is currently non-existent even though talks continue. Arsenal, it has been claimed, were trying to negotiate a cheaper deal than Bologna's €50 million asking price due to Calafiori's injury history and relatively late rise to fame at 22.

Bologna and Basel, on the other hand, are keen to get as much value out of the deal as possible. Bologna owe the Swiss side 50 per cent of the profit they make from Calafiori's sale, so they are desperate to push his price up, while Basel are trying to ensure that they really receive every single penny they are due.

With Bologna set to compete in the Champions League for the first time since the 1960s, and having already lost striker Joshua Zirkzee to Man Utd (with half of his fee going to Bayern Munich), the Italian side need to raise funds for reinforcements.

The above-mentioned report insists that, despite the current standstill, the deal is not in doubt as the subject of the disagreement is a relatively trifling one. With the basics of the transfer already settled on, a breakthrough is expected to be reached in due time.