If Riccardo Calafiori is on the verge of joining Arsenal, would it be the best thing for his career development and indeed for the Gunners if the Italy international will be moved to left-back?
Multiple sources seem confident now that the Premier League side is on the verge of agreeing a fee of circa €50m with Bologna.
There are also suggestions he was won over by the project presented to him, rather than the uncertainty at Chelsea.
Calafiori had been linked with Juventus for many months, especially with coach Thiago Motta moving from Bologna to Turin, but his club would prefer to sell abroad.
In theory, Juventus would’ve been the ideal solution, as he could continue his progress with a coach who already knows him well and remain in that centre-back role.
Calafiori must command a central role
When he was at Roma and then FC Basel, he played largely as a left-back or in a more advanced role as a left-sided midfielder.
It was only once he moved to Bologna for €4m – plus a 40 per cent cut of the future transfer fee – that Thiago Motta transformed him into a central defender.
That role allowed him to surge forward from deep and help the attacking moves, which is why he managed five assists in Serie A this season, along with the assist for Mattia Zaccagni in Italy’s EURO 2024 draw against Croatia.
Arsenal already have a rock-solid central defensive partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, so would Calafiori be going to London in order to be an alternative to them or switch to left-back where he was merely decent?
Either of those solutions sounds like a step backwards in his career development, and therefore damaging for the Italy team too.
He has to think very carefully about his next move, because Calafiori was only in the Italy starting XI in the Euros thanks to injuries for Giorgio Scalvini and Francesco Acerbi, otherwise he might not even have been in the squad.
Sad if he does leave, it showing that A: Serie A can’t hold on to its best players, and B: has no idea how to use its Italian youngsters.
Don’t be surprised to see Bologna with an all-11 foreign team next season.
It’s a wrong move, everyone knows that. No way that he is going to flourish and develop in that peasent league. No Italian ever got better in england. He earns more money, sure, Bologna earns and his agent earns, but Italian football suffers. Premier leagu is like predator that robs and ruins best Italian talents.
Backwards. As a CB he needs to refine his trade in Italy. He has time to go aboard later in his career. Italian teams should be pursuing him.
It’s a shame for Bologna. They are losing their manager and at least two of their ‘star’ players. Their Champions League will be over by Christmas. But the money will keep them solvent.
He’ll be going to the PL to sit on the bench like most Italians who end up there. This is a good example of everything that is wrong with the Italian clubs and the agents that represent these lads. It is all business, money and profits. Not a second thought is given to development or pride for a club or the fans that turn out and are supposed to spend good money and give their unwavering support. Total rubbish.