Arsenal lead the race for Calafiori due to anti-Juventus pact

Arsenal are reportedly leading the race to Riccardo Calafiori as Bologna do not fancy selling their prized asset to Juventus.

The Bianconeri have identified the 22-year-old as their primary target to bolster the backline this summer.

Moreover, new Juventus coach Thiago Motta played an instrumental role in the player’s transition from fullback to center-back last term, and he would love to have him at his disposal once more.

But according to Sky Sport journalist Gianluca Di Marzio (via IlBianconero), it is Arsenal who have the edge over the Turin-based giants.

Moreover, Il Corriere dello Sport (via JuventusNews24) talks about an anti-Juventus pact at Bologna who would prefer to sell the defender abroad rather than send him to Turin.

Therefore, the Emilians would only sell Calafiori to Juventus for a whopping 50 million euros, while they would be more lenient when negotiating with foreign clubs.

Nevertheless, Bologna’s technical director Gianluca Sartori insists that the club would like to maintain the services of the Italy international beyond the summer.

“We took Calafiori 12 months ago and we would like to keep him. We will see how the market evolves.”

Calafiori is a Roma youth product who also had an experience at Basel before joining Bologna last summer.

The 22-year-old was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise woeful Euro 2024 campaign for the Italian national team.

The Azzurri were uncrowned at the hands of Switzerland in the Round of 16 while Calafiori missed the action due to a one-match ban.