When Newcastle United sealed a £60 million deal for Sandro Tonali in the summer of 2023, the Italian’s arrival in the Premier League was met with no shortage of hand-wringing back home in Italy.
This, some argued, was a rather damning indictment of the situation Serie A had found itself in.
A club of the stature and history of AC Milan feeling they had to sell a supremely-gifted and homegrown talent to a Magpies side who, despite that Saudi Arabian takeover and a fine campaign under Eddie Howe, could hardly be considered among the Premier League’s established elite.
“When teams lose these players, it is a defeat for Italian football,” sighed former Atalanta and Juventus coach Luigi Delneri, via Sky Italia. “Milan have lost a great player.”
The reaction to Riccardo Calafiori’s potential £42 million move to Arsenal has been similarly one of frustration. A growing concern about Serie A’s place in this modern football landscape, where the finances on offer in the Premier League have skewed the market dramatically in England’s direction.
Arsenal near Riccardo Calafiori deal with Bologna
Another ex-Juve boss, Ciro Ferrera, tells TuttoMercatoWeb that he has been left with a familiar feeling, one year on from Tonali’s defection to St James’ Park.
The legendary Fabio Capello, meanwhile, had hoped that the appointment of Calafiori’s former Bologna coach Thiago Motta at the Allianz Stadium would have been enough to see the breakout star of Italy’s Euro 2024 campaign up sticks and head to Turin rather than the Emirates Stadium.
“Thiago Motta is carrying out a revolution and (director Cristiano) Giuntoli seems equally determined,” Capello, who guided Juventus to two Serie A titles before they were revoked due to the Calciopoli scandal, per Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It’s a shame about Calafiori. He has a great personality and would have been useful to Motta.”
Capello feels that a Juve side who finished third last term need players of Calafiori’s talent if they are to close the 23-point gap between themselves and Scudetto holders Inter Milan.
“The start of the market is encouraging, but we’ll have to see if the Bianconeri will be able to strengthen themselves as they planned with purchases and sales,” adds the former England, Real Madrid and AC Milan chief.
“Now, Inter remains stronger.”
World Cup winner backs move for Italy star
According to Gianluca di Marzio, Arsenal are closing in on a deal that would see Calafiori move to the Premier League runners-up for a potential bargain fee of £42 million.
HITC understands that Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are also among the former Roma defender’s suitors, but it is Mikel Arteta’s Gunners who have emerged as the clear frontrunners to take another of Serie A’s bright young things across the Channel.
There is, however, at least one man in Italy who feels positive about the prospect of Calafiori continuing his development in one of Europe’s most upwardly-mobile clubs.
“He had an incredible championship (at Euro 2024),” Marco Materazzi, a World Cup winner with the Azzuri 18 years ago, tells Sport Mediaset. “And, if he leaves Bologna, he must make the right choice. Either he goes with Thiago Motta (to Juventus), otherwise I read about Arsenal.
“The Premier League is a different kind of football. But (Arsenal) could be the ideal team for him.”
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