Arsenal’s pursuit of Bologna and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori has supposedly hit a roadblock due to a sell-on clause issue involving Basel.
Arsenal‘s pursuit of highly-rated Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori has reportedly hit a snag due to a sell-on clause dispute between Bologna and Basel.
Despite the initial expectation that Calafiori would be following Thiago Motta to Juventus, Arsenal quickly stole a march on the Old Lady in the race for the 22-year-old.
Calafiori is already believed to have given the green light to join Arsenal, who are willing to pay as much as €50m (£42.1m) to bring him to North London, but a total agreement has not yet been reached with Bologna.
The two clubs have been working to find common ground, and there has been optimism that they will eventually shake hands, as Calafiori is keen to move to the Emirates Stadium.
However, according to Gazzetta dello Sport – via The Mirror – negotiations have now been halted, as Bologna are at odds with Swiss outfit Basel over their original sell-on clause.
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Bologna ‘want Basel’ to lower 50% Calafiori clause
Calafiori joined Bologna from Basel for just €4m (£3.4m) last year, but the Swiss side are understood to retain a 50% sell-on clause, which would entitle them to over £20m of his proposed sale this summer.
However, Bologna are supposedly now demanding that Basel accept lower than the original 50%, and the Italian side are threatening to end negotiations with Arsenal entirely if they cannot reach an accord with their Swiss counterparts.
Calafiori is expected to begin pre-season training with his current club while the sell-on clause talks rumble on in the background, having played a prominent role for Italy in their short-lived Euro 2024 campaign.
The Azzurri were knocked out by Switzerland in the last 16 of the competition, but the 6ft 2in Calafiori missed that game through suspension and made an impression in his three group matches.
The 22-year-old set up Mattia Zaccagni‘s last-gasp equaliser in Italy’s 1-1 draw with Croatia, which ensured their place in the knockout rounds, after coming up with two goals and five assists in 30 Serie A games last season.
How big a blow would missing out on Calafiori be?
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Still yet to welcome a new arrival to the club this summer – barring turning David Raya‘s Brentford loan into a permanent agreement – Arsenal should not be too hung up on missing out on Calafiori if Bologna and Basel cannot resolve their dispute.
The 22-year-old would have never displaced the established partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, who have forged a reputation as one of the best centre-back pairings on the planet over the past two seasons.
In addition, Mikel Arteta is blessed with versatile options to step in for the duo if one or both get injured, including Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jurrien Timber and Jakub Kiwior, while Ben White is more than competent centrally too.
Of course, such scenarios are far from ideal given the quartet’s abilities out wide too, and Calafiori’s potential is evident, but there are surely more important areas for Arteta to address right now.
The Gunners are in desperate need of a new number six, a new second-choice goalkeeper if Aaron Ramsdale leaves and cover for Bukayo Saka on the right-hand side, as Reiss Nelson is not expected to stick around for much longer.