Calafiori in London as Arsenal prepare to announce £38m transfer

It is the worst kept secret of the summer transfer window so far. Riccardo Calafiori will become an Arsenal player this summer.

The 22-year-old has been a target for the Gunners for much of the summer, impressing during Italy’s disappointing Euro 2024 campaign in Germany. He also enjoyed a fine 2023/24 season with Bologna, helping them qualify for the Champions League by finishing fifth in Serie A.

He has been seemingly on the verge of joining Arsenal for weeks, although that Euro 2024 campaign, his subsequent holiday and the fact the two teams were haggling over a price, with Bologna due to give a portion of the fee to former club Basel, holding it up.

Now though it seems we are only a matter of time away from official confirmation that the deal has gone through. Mikel Arteta has not been speaking about it, but the deal has even been bypassed in press conferences as having been done.

Arteta was asked on Friday night ahead of the meeting with Manchester United this weekend: “How important is it to keep strengthening the squad beyond Calafiori?” A question that brushes off the fact the deal has yet to be completed officially.

Arteta gave a wry smile before also ignoring the Calafiori aspect. He replied: “The full focus is trying to improve the guys. Getting the best out of them, getting the best version of them consistently so they can perform at the level we want. We know that there are certain parts in the squad that we’d like to improve, but it’s dictated by the market. At the moment, we have a great squad, it’s a great chance for the young players from the academy to be with us. It’s a joy to have them on tour with us.”

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football.london reported earlier this week that Calafiori would join up with his new teammates on the pre-season tour of America, such was the confidence that a deal would be completed. And it seems he could join his teammate after the game with United.

Calafiori is understood to have travelled to London on Saturday morning to complete his medical with Arsenal, before then flying out to the States to join up with the squad. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano said: “Calafiori will travel from Rome to London early morning on Saturday.” Arsenal will be travelling from Los Angeles to Philadelphia on Sunday, which is wher Calafiori is likely to join them.