Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal delay explained by Italian transfer expert

The Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal transfer saga has been dragging on for a while now, and it remains to be seen when we’ll finally see a breakthrough in negotiations.

The Italy international is an elite young talent who surely has a big future in the game, and it’s not surprising to see Arsenal making him one of their priorities for this summer as it’s easy to imagine him being a good fit for Mikel Arteta’s style of play.

Calafiori, however, will not come cheap, and Italian football and transfer news expert Gianluca Di Marzio has provided some insight into why it’s taking a while for the two clubs to reach an agreement over the fee for the 22-year-old.

The report states that this slightly complicated deal could end up being expensive for Arsenal, as Bologna have to give 50% of whatever they receive for Calafiori to his former club Basel, meaning it’s in their interest to raise their asking price.

It remains to be seen if Arsenal can come up with something that suits Bologna, whilst also feeling that they’re not over-paying for the player.

Calafiori transfer: Do Arsenal really need the versatile defender?

Arsenal fans might be wondering if it’s really worth putting all this time into the Calafiori deal when they already have so many good options in defence, even if that left-hand side is something of a problem area.

The Gunners could undoubtedly benefit from Calafiori coming in as an upgrade on both Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior, but at the same time, it’s debatable if it would make as much of a difference to their squad as a new striker or winger would.

With Thomas Partey’s injury record, a new defensive midfielder might also really benefit AFC, so it will be interesting to see how much longer they’re willing to wait to reach an agreement for Calafiori.