On Friday, we covered multiple claims from Italy stating that Riccardo Calafiori has agreed a five-year deal with Arsenal. It was also said the north London club have made a new bid after their initial offer of €47m was rejected by Bologna.
The centre-back is now ‘one step away’ from joining the Premier League side, according to Calciomercato.
Juventus showed interest in the 22-year-old, but they weren’t able to compete financially with Arsenal, who have made the ‘right offer’ of €53m.
Bologna chairman Joey Saputo has preferred to sell the star to a foreign club than Juve, and this clearly favours the Gunners.
Gianluca Di Marzio also claims the Italy international is ‘increasingly closer’ to joining the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta’s side are working on finding an agreement with Bologna for a fee around €50m. They are yet to agree a deal, but Di Marzio says Calafiori’s agent Alessandro Lucci is working to close the gap between the two clubs.
Calciomercato state the fee offered by Arsenal is €53m, probably including bonuses, and the price quoted by Di Marzio is likely to be without bonuses.
Italian journalist Rudy Galetti took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to add that Arsenal are ‘increasing the pressure’ in their negotiations with Bologna to ‘close everything ASAP’, to avoid last-minute competition from other clubs.
