4 months ago
27 
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has placed his famous “here we go” tagline on Arsenal’s move for Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori after trying to wrap up a deal for the Italy international for weeks.
The Gunners agreed personal terms with the centre-back having offered the 22-year-old a five-year deal worth €4m per season, however, it was club-to-club issues that held the transfer up.
The biggest issue was between Bologna and Calafiori’s former club FC Basel as the Serie A side owed the Swiss giants 50% of any sale. That is a very large chunk of a transfer fee to have to give up and therefore, the Italians tried to find ways for them to get more money out of the deal.
Eventually, Arsenal would reach an agreement with Bologna over a transfer fee with the Premier League club set to part ways with €40m plus €5m in add-ons for the centre-back. A sell-on clause is also included in the deal, but Basel and Bologna still needed to agree on the payment terms of their agreed 50% sell-on clause.
According to Fabrizio Romano, everything has now been agreed between all of the parties involved and Calafiori is on his way to Arsenal to start a new chapter in his career.
Arsenal have completed a deal for Bologna’s Riccardo Calafiori
What will Bologna’s Riccardo Calafiori bring to Arsenal?
The signing of Calafiori is one Arsenal fans have been waiting for and supporters are right to be excited about the arrival of the 22-year-old as he is the perfect fit for the North London club.
It is not hard to see why the Premier League team want Calafiori as the Italian star is one of the brightest young defenders in Europe at present.

The 22-year-old showed this with his outstanding Euro 2024 campaign and that followed an impressive season with Bologna. The Italian defender featured in 30 Serie A matches, scoring two goals and assisting a further five as the Rossoblu secured qualification for this season’s Champions League.
Calafiori can play in the centre-back position as well as left-back, which will be a useful tool for Mikel Arteta to have. The Spanish coach likes to use central defenders in the full-back roles and that is where the 22-year-old is very likely to play this season.
The Italy international is expected to go far in the football world and there are not many places better than Arsenal at present to develop his skills and achieve all of his goals.
