Riccardo Calafiori has moved a step closer to completing his transfer to Arsenal, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Posting on his official account on X, formerly Twitter, Romano explained that Calafiori has been in London for his medical with the Gunners and he’ll now be set to travel to the US to join the rest of Mikel Arteta’s squad for pre-season.
See below for details as Calafiori to Arsenal takes another step closer to formally being finalised after a lengthy saga involving the Italy international after his impressive form with Serie A giants Bologna last season…
???? Medical done for Riccardo Calafiori who’s set to travel to USA from London together with his agents.
Calafiori will sign five year deal as new Arsenal player in the US. pic.twitter.com/0vFrffhuqj
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 28, 2024
Calafiori can play centre-back or left-back, and it will probably be the latter position that the 22-year-old ends up fulfilling for Arteta’s team.
Arsenal already have Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior as their main options in that position, but neither were entirely convincing last season, so there’s surely room for Calafiori to come in as an important upgrade.
One imagines there’s also no future for the returning Kieran Tierney, who went out on loan to Real Sociedad last season without being particularly impressive.
Overall, the AFC defence looks in good shape and they’ll benefit hugely from Calafiori’s versatility, as well as his all-round ability, as he looks like a technical and intelligent player who’ll fit in well with Arteta’s philosophy.