Riccardo Calafiori is making a lot of headlines this week.
The Bologna defender put himself in the shop window with some solid performances at Euro 2024, and Premier League clubs are starting to take notice.
The likes of Chelsea and Liverpool have been linked with a move for the centre-back, but it’s Arsenal who are said to have made the first move.
Indeed, reports in Italy have suggested that Arsenal have made a bid for the defender, but speaking on Inside Arsenal, Charles Watts has poured cold water on those suggestions, claiming that he would be surprised if a bid had gone in after what he’d heard from his sources on Tuesday.
Arsenal unlikely to have made Riccardo Calafiori bid
Watts shared what his sources have told him about the defender.
“Reports in Italy today say that there has been a €47m offer for Calafiori, that is the big news in Italy. I can’t confirm that, I’ve not heard there has been an official bid and I don’t think there has,” Watts said.
“From when I was speaking to someone yesterday about it my information was that there wasn’t any bid at that stage, it was just interest, but they were very interested in him, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a bid does go in,” Watts said.
Calafiori bid could be imminent
As Watts says, Arsenal are unlikely to have made a concrete bid for Calafiori at this point, but as the old saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire.
Indeed, while Watts notes that a bid probably hasn’t gone in yet, the Gunners’ interest in the Bologna star seems to be concrete and an offer could be imminent.
With Chelsea also sniffing around, Arsenal may need to act quickly if they want to sign Calafiori, and it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if Arsenal stepped up their interest in the coming days.