Arsenal and sporting director Edu Gaspar are expected to launch their opening bid for an in-demand £42 million star, coming after a pretty quiet transfer window so far.
Arteta looking at signing new defenders for Arsenal
The north Londoners finished 2023/2024 with the best defensive record out of any Premier League side, conceding the fewest goals over a campaign where they fell just short of their first title in 20 years.
Edu prepared to make Arsenal bid for £102m star as cut-price move possible
The Gunners think he’s ideal.
2 ByEmilio GalantiniJul 2, 2024
Despite this, it is believed Mikel Arteta is pursuing more strength in depth for his back line. Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have shone at the heart of Arsenal's defence for nearly two years, but a prolonged absence for either player would surely spell trouble for Arteta.
Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jakub Kiwior and Ben White have featured more predominantly as full-back options for Arsenal, meaning the Gunners could be after a different star centre-half option who can provide back up for Saliba and Gabriel.
Arsenal
29
Man City
34
Liverpool
41
Everton
51
Man United/Crystal Palace
58
Arsenal are considering talks to sign Guehi from Crystal Palace as one target, but have also been linked with Barcelona star Jules Kounde and Bologna sensation Riccardo Calafiori as well.
The latter has emerged as one of Europe's most sought-after defenders, following a brilliant Serie A campaign at Bologna and promising showings for Italy at Euro 2024. Calafiori, who made 30 league appearances and impressed under former boss Thiago Motta, is also wanted by his ex-manager at Juventus.
Calafiori is open to joining Juve, according to Fabrizio Romano, and some reports have even claimed that Carlo Ancelotti is a fan as well. Real Madrid are apparently targeting Calafiori among the plethora of sides taking an interest, with Bologna director Giovanni Sartori recently admitting that he's likely to move abroad over Turin.
“We only signed Calafiori 12 months ago, so we’ll see what happens, but in our minds we want to keep him,” he told reporters at a recent event (via TEAMtalk).
“There has been talk of Juventus, but also many other clubs. If we were to receive big offers, we’d have to think about it. I don’t think he will go to Juventus, it will probably be abroad, but I repeat we will try to keep him.”
Edu expected to launch opening Arsenal bid for Calafiori
TEAMtalk have an update on Arsenal's pursuit of the former FC Basel starlet this week. It is believed that Edu is expected to submit an opening Arsenal bid for Calafiori soon, but face competition from rivals abroad and domestically in the Premier League.
A key attraction in terms of moving for the Italian is his versatility. The left-sided centre-back can also feature at left-back, meaning Arteta could kill two birds with one stone and sign cover for two areas of his defence.
However, given the 50 per cent sell-on clause Basel agreed to sell Calafiori to Bologna, the Serie A side could demand a premium. Some reports suggest this could be as high as £42 million.