Arsenal facing obstacles to complete major transfer as first doubts start to emerge

Arsenal may reportedly be facing major obstacles in the race for the transfer of Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori despite most recent reports on this deal sounding very positive.

It now looks like the first doubts may be creeping in as the Gunners could face paying an inflated fee for Calafiori, with the Italy international’s injury record also possibly a concern, according to The Athletic.

The talented 22-year-old seems mostly like an ideal fit for Mikel Arteta’s style of football, but it perhaps makes sense to proceed with some caution if not everyone at the club is convinced by the price tag and view the player as a risk due to his fitness problems.

Arsenal may well feel there are other options out there who could also do a good job in that inverted full-back role on the left-hand side, while some fans may even feel they already have good enough options in the form of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior.

Calafiori transfer: Could Arsenal hesitate and allow Chelsea back in?

As Fabrizio Romano previously told CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Chelsea have also had an interest in Calafiori this summer, so it will be interesting to see if this hesitation from the Gunners allows the Blues to revive a deal.

However, Renato Veiga to Chelsea is another similar deal that looks to be edging closer, as Romano also told us more recently, so it may be that the west London giants have already moved on from Calafiori.

It’s been a quiet summer so far from Arsenal, so it would surely be a major disappointment to most of the club’s fans if they allowed a top talent like Calafiori to end up at Chelsea or somewhere else instead after seemingly leading the race for so long.

The Calafiori links have also led to Kiwior emerging as a target for Juventus, as per Calciomercato.