Juventus might have already completed two significant purchases this summer, but they’ll likely miss on Riccardo Calafiori’s signature. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Bologna center-back is keen to team up with Arsenal, with the Gunners set to intensify talks to lure him away from Renato Dall’Ara in the coming days.
New Juventus boss Thiago Motta is desperate to reunite with the 22-year-old at the Allianz Stadium. Though the record-time Serie A champions seemed comfortably in the lead to snap up the Italy international, Arsenal’s interest in the former Basel man has flipped the script.
Poised to add to his defensive options, Mikel Arteta has earmarked Calafiori as a perfect reinforcement. After seeing the player go from strength to strength at Euro 2024, the Spaniard is hellbent on seeing off Juventus in this race. And he’ll probably succeed by the looks of things.
The reason is simple. Juventus can’t contest Arsenal’s financial prowess. Last season’s Premier League runners-up are ready to part with an eye-watering €50 million to take Calafiori to England, with Basel set to receive 50% of the transfer fee, courtesy of a sell-on clause.
While Calafiori looks destined to continue his career away from Serie A, Juventus shouldn’t feel disappointed. They’ve already bolstered their squad with the acquisitions of Douglas Luiz and Michele Di Gregorio.
Nice’s Khephren Thuram is next in line, with the French midfielder on the verge of swapping Ligue 1 for Turin. In addition to Thuram, Juventus are again trying to bring Teun Koopmeiners of Atalanta.
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