- Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Riccardo Calafiori just days ago.
- The player has gone through many difficult paths.
- The player has been hailed as one of the most exciting defenders of his generation after his impressive performances at Euro 2024.
Arsenal the giant club of the English Premier League, has finally reached an agreement to acquire Riccardo Calafiori. The Italian national team defender, from Bologna for a high fee of 42 million pounds and signed a 5-year contract.
Back in late August last year, just hours before the deadline. Bologna signed Calafiori from Swiss giants FC Basel for just £3 million, and no one would have guessed that it would be a successful business venture.
Calafiori’s journey to becoming an Arsenal player was quite difficult. He started as a product of Roma. But failed to make it into the first สมัคร ufabet team under former Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho and was sold to Basel in 2021.
However, it took the Azzurri defender just a year to develop his skills at Basel. Where he was spotted by Bologna technical director Ovanni Sartori. In his first year at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara Calafiori, he made 33 appearances and helped the team secure their first-ever UEFA Champions League qualification.
Calafiori has been playing mainly as a left full-back in recent times. Before former Bologna boss Thiago Motta moved him to centre-half last season and impressed, leading the team to a season that ended with just six defeats.
Calafiori is a strong central defender standing at 188cm tall. He plays football with intelligence, elegance and has more technique than most defenders. He can also play in a three or four-man defence.
The 22-year-old, who scored twice and provided five assists for Bologna last season, said after holding up the Arsenal shirt: “I’m really happy to be here. I hope we can do great things in the coming season.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s Spanish manager Miguel Arteta said of Calafiori: “This is a great signing. Riccardo has a great personality, he is a great player, he has a great skill set and he will make us stronge. As we push ourselves to achieve success.”
“He has already shown great improvement over the last season with his performances for Bologna and the Italian national team, and his progress and development has been very impressive. We look forward to working with him, pushing him and supporting him in the years to come.”
Calafiori have made the leap from Basel and Bologna to title contenders Arsenal in a matter of years, while for the Gunners they will also be adding a quality defender to their backline in a deal that looks like a win-win situation for all parties involved.