It has been reported in Italy that Arsenal and Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori are nearing an agreement worth €50 million (£42.1 million).
Calafiori was considered a top priority for Mikel Arteta’s team this month, but negotiations between Bologna and the 22-year-old’spreviousclub FC Basel came to a standstill.
Basel, who sold Calafiori to Arsenal last August for €4 million (£3.4 million), is requesting half of the transfer fee that Arsenal is expected to pay. Bologna is not happy with those terms because the defender was only with the Swiss team for a year and was not called up to the Italian national team until May of this year.
But after making progress in negotiations with Bologna, Sky Sports Italy and Gianluca Di Marzio now claim that Arsenal is “one step away” from signing Calafiori.
The defender, who started for Italy in three of their summertime Euro 2024 matches, has already reached a personal agreement with Arsenal.
After Italy’s Euro 2024 campaign, Calafiori took a short break, but this week he resumed individual training with a private coach.
This weekend, the Italy international is scheduled to return to Bologna for preseason training in anticipation of their training camp in Valles, Alto Adige, in the northern region of Italy.
On Sunday, Arsenal is scheduled to depart for the United States to begin their preseason tour.
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