Liverpool urged to steal Riccardo Calafiori from under Arsenal FC’s noses
Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann has advised the club to hijack Arsenal FC’s pursuit of Bologna star Riccardo Calafiori.
Arsenal have been in talks with Bologna over the signing of the highly-rated Italian defender of late. A standout performer for Italy at the recently concluded Euro 2024 in Germany, Riccardo Calafiori is keen on joining the Gunners with personal terms not expected to be an issue.
However, Bologna have slapped a £42 million price tag on the player’s head—which is £8 million short of what the North London side are presently willing to pay. The Serie A side stubbornness to stick with the £42million price is because Swiss giants FC Basel are owed 50 per cent of any transfer fee Bologna receive for Calafiori as part of a sell-on clause in the deal that saw him transfer to Italy last summer.
This has resulted in the Calafiori deal reaching an impasse slightly. Keeping this in mind, Didi Hamann has urged his former employers Liverpool to intervene and beat their Premier League rivals Arsenal to the Italy international’s signature.
“Riccardo Calafiori is a very good player and is so comfortable on the ball, it’s no surprise that when he missed Italy’s game against Switzerland, they put in a terrible performance,” Hamann told Top Offshore Casinos (h/t The Daily Mirror)
“They were awful from start to finish, awful. That came after he set up the last-minute equaliser against Croatia. I think Virgil van Dijk said he wants to stay and he wants to be with his fellow countryman Arne Slot, he wants to help him get back to winning ways at Liverpool.
“Ibrahima Konate is a brilliant defender but just has too many injuries. Calafiori would be a very good player depending on how much he’d cost.
“He’s certainly a player that would be a starter for Liverpool given what he did for his club last season and for his country. He’s the type of player who improves your team and obviously that’s mighty important when you want to challenge for trophies.”
The Italian international has been compared to legendary defender Paolo Maldini. If he turns out to be half as good as the AC Milan icon, Liverpool could have a real player on their hands.
Liverpool are interested in adding a new centre-back to the squad this summer, with Calafiori firmly among the list of their summer’s defensive targets. In fact, the Reds had also enquired about the availability of the Bologna star last month. Arsenal are apparently in pole position to sign the 22-year-old centre-back but they are only willing to splash £34m for him, which is £8m short of Bologna’s valuation.
With the deal stalling, the time is absolutely perfect for the Reds to pounce and hijack Arsenal’s move for the Italian, who gave glimpses of his quality and potential at the Euro 2024 in Germany. While Italy stumbled at the round of 16, Calafiori was by far his nation’s best player. He was a consistent presence at the back for the Italians, catching the eye with his proactive defending, technical skills, ball progression, physicality and reading of the game.
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Before heading to the Euros, he had a strong campaign with Bologna, making 30 league appearances as his side finished fourth in Serie A and subsequently qualified for the Champions League. Being left-footed, Calafiori would complement skipper Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool’s defence. The Rome-born star’s game awareness and recovery pace would allow Arne Slot to play a high defensive line, while his durability should make him an upgrade on the injury-prone Konate.
All in all, we must listen to Hamann’s advice and poach Calafiori under Arsenal’s noses.
