Arsenal have made their move for Italian international center back Riccardo Calafiori as multiple reports say a deal is close.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal will pay $43.5 million for Calafiori with another $5.5 million in add ons, with Basel and Bologna sorting out the sell-on fees needed to be paid to the former.
The Athletic are also reporting that a deal is ‘accelerating’ for the 22-year-old defender to swap Bologna for Arsenal.
Do Arsenal need a new center back?
When you look at the duo of Gabriel and William Saliba last season, it’s tough to say that Arsenal need to improve their center backs. They had the best defense in the Premier League.
Gabriel and Saliba have developed a magnificent partnership at the heart of Arsenal’s defense and the Gunners going big for a center back is a bit of surprise. But when you break it down, Calafiori is exactly the profile of center back Mikel Arteta is after.
He strides out of the back with the ball a la John Stones and Calafiori will give Arsenal the option of playing three at the back and be more flexible and tougher to prepare to play against. Calafiori would give Arsenal an extra dimension because as good as Saliba is at coming out of the back with the ball, he doesn’t get to do it often enough in the system Arsenal play as usually the holding midfield or the full backs are dropping deeper centrally to get on the ball and build attacks.
Long-term Calafiori may well be a replacement for Gabriel alongside Saliba and the Italian and French internationals are 22 and 23 years old respectively. That’s Arsenal’s center back positions locked in for the next five years, at least.
Arsenal,Riccardo Calafiori,William Saliba,Mikel Arteta,Italian international center,John Stones,Fabrizio Romano,Bologna
