Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that there is no update on the club’s pursuit of Bologna centre-back Riccardo Calafiori, despite reports that a deal is near.
Despite interest from Juventus, Calafiori is believed to have approved a move to the Emirates Stadium, and Arsenal have agreed to a €45 million (£37.9 million) deal with Bologna.
Arsenal will pay an upfront cost of €40 million (£33.6 million) for the Italy international, with an additional €5 million (£4.3 million) in add-ons, but the sale has been stalled due to two sell-on clause disagreements, according to reports.
Initially, Bologna and Basel, who sold Calafiori to the Italian side last year, engaged in a disagreement over a condition that would see the Swis The team receives 50% of any future transfer fee, which means they are entitled €22.5 million (£19 million).
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On Monday, allegations emerged that Roma, whom Calafiori represented at youth level before leaving in 2022, also claimed that they were due roughly €8 million (£6.7 million) by Basel as part of the agreement, having also shaken hands on a 40% sell-on option with their Swiss counterparts in 2022.
Arteta encourages fans to ‘fall in love’ with Arsenal players.
However, such disagreements appear to have been resolved, as Fabrizio Romano reports that Arsenal and Bologna are currently exchanging documents and negotiating contracts for Calafiori.
After arriving in the United States for Arsenal’s pre-season tour, Arteta was inevitably asked about the Gunners’ pursuit of the 22-year-old, but he admitted that there was “unfortunately” nothing to report just yet.
When asked if there had been an update on the deal, as reported by the official Arsenal website, the Spaniard replied: “No, unfortunately not, but we know there are certain positions that we want to improve and give the squad better resources in terms of numbers where we are short.”We’ll do our best, but the most important thing is to fall in love with our guys and help them improve.”
So far this summer, Arsenal has only signed three goalkeepers, first exercising their option to sign Brentford’s David Raya on a permanent contract for about £27 million.
Tommy Setford and Lucas Nygaard have both joined Arsenal’s academy, and both young players boarded the plane for the club’s US trip with 24 other players.
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