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Arsenal enter the race for 22-year-old Italian sensation on Liverpool radar

According to Italy-based sports journalist Matteo Moretto, as reported by Liverpool Echo, Arsenal have joined to race to sign Riccardo Calafiori this summer.

The Bologna centre-back was instrumental in the season gone by for Thiago Motta’s side that remarkably qualified for the Champions League with a fifth-place finish in the Serie A.

He is now attracting even more eyeballs at an exponential rate given his performances for the Italy national team at the ongoing UEFA Euro 2024.

Calafiori for Bologna in 2023/24 across all competitions: 37 appearances, 2 goals, 5 assists.

Arsenal are the latest Premier League club to join the race for the 22-year-old after Liverpool and Manchester United. There is strong interest for him in Italy as well, with Thiago Motta’s new club Juventus also keen on reconnecting the two.

Bologna are expected to at least want a fee in the region of €40-50m for Calafiori, whose €740,000-per-year contract at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara is set to run until June 2027.

Calafiori would suit Liverpool, but Juve lead the race

Given his performances and technical ability demonstrated for both Bologna and Italy, there is no doubt that Calafiori would make an excellent fit for the sides he’s being linked with, especially Liverpool.

The Anfield club would help Arne Slot bring about his revolution at Merseyside a lot more quickly with such an acquisition, but given the track record of Italian players in the Premier League in general, as well as their reluctance to leave Italy in the first place, one has to assume that Juventus hold the edge here in the race for his signature.

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Especially since they also have Thiago Motta as their new manager, who was his coach up until recently, and would consider it prudent to bring him as many of his former players as possible to get him up and running.

Anshuman Joshi