Mikel Arteta told major Riccardo Calafiori concern amid £40m move

Arsenal are leading the race to sign Bologna and Italy centre-back Riccardo Calafiori, however, the Premier League club have been issued a stern warning.

Calafiori has caught the attention of top clubs in Europe after his impressive performance for Bologna and also Italy at the ongoing Euro 2024.

However, Italian football expert, Richard Hall, has explained how Arsenal should be aware of the early knee injury Calafiori suffered at the start of his career.

Back when he was 16, playing for AS Roma’s youth team, he was on the receiving end of a high challenge against Viktoria Plzen. The injury saw him sidelined for 347 days before returning to action in the 2019/20 season.

“He’s seen as a secret that has got out in Italy. He’s Roman, born and raised, who started off as a left-back,” he told football.london.

“He had a significant knee injury very early in his career, so you have to be aware of that. It’s a remarkable comeback. Since he made his professional debut in 2020, he has just improved.

“Like a lot of Italian players, he has a huge amount of maturity and resilience. In 2022, he was loaned to Genoa and gained experience in Serie A, showing great tactical skill before moving to Basel that summer. The Swiss league isn’t an easy league, believe it not, and that really helped him develop himself as a left wing-back and then at centre-back.”

Calafiori’s injury record will be of concern for Arsenal and their recruitment team. The likes of Kieran Tierney, William Saliba, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko have all suffered their own injury setbacks since joining the club.