Thursday, November 14, 2024

Riccardo Calafiori’s Arsenal move set to result in ‘popular’ player being sold

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Arsenal are set to bolster their squad by signing Italy international Riccardo Calafiori, but they are likely to sacrifice one of their first-team defenders in order to make room

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Arsenal’s move to sign Bologna’s Riccardo Calafiori would likely see ‘popular’ defender Jakub Kiwior leave the club amid interest from Italy.

After a stellar Euro 2024 campaign, Italy’s centre-half Calafiori suddenly became a man in demand. He has received interest from all over Europe, namely from several Premier League clubs.




Mikel Arteta’s side look set to win the race for him, however, and a fee is to be discussed this week. The idea is that Calafiori can join the squad before they set off on their pre-season tour of the USA.

As with many incomings, outgoings are inevitable. According to The Athletic, Arsenal will likely offload one of their defenders to make room for the Italian, and Kiwior is reportedly the prime candidate, despite his supposed ‘popularity’ at the club.

The Polish defender can play either centre-half or left-back – the exact parameters Calafiori would fill were he to sign.

Calafiori would have caught Arsenal’s eye at Euro 2024, as he impressed for a poor Italian side who were knocked out by Switzerland in the round of 16. And Kiwior looks set to be replaced by the in-form defender, despite only signing for Arsenal during 2023’s January window.

When Kiwior was linked with a move away in March, Arteta said: “We have made it difficult for him for two reasons. One, because he hasn’t played that many minutes, and the second one because we asked him to play in a position that he’s never played in before.

Kiwior only joined Arsenal on January 2023, but has impressed under Arteta(Michael Zemanek/REX/Shutterstock)

“So it’s like putting William Saliba as a full-back, and saying, ‘There we go, tomorrow go and perform and do what we have to do!’ It’s all about (adapting to players needs).

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