Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho are interested in Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori with the club facing a dilemma over whether to accept a major offer for regularly injured Italian
Transfer silly season is in full swing in what feels like minutes after the season has come to an end, because it has. Arsenal are already linked to several big names ahead of what aims to be an ambitious window for Mikel Arteta’s side.
However, while the bulk of the talk addresses the incomings, there is the matter of outgoings. The club have got plenty of room to spend but can create even more under the new Squad Cost Ratio rules by moving on some of their surplus talent.
Yet it is a player far from that label being targeted by one of Europe’s giants. Real Madrid’s potentially incoming head coach, Jose Mourinho, is keen on signing Riccardo Calafiori from the Premier League champions.
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Suggestions are that Mourinho sees Calafiori as the final piece to his defensive puzzle after an early aggressive move to build a new back line for the Spanish team. Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konate are expected to join Los Blancos, and the Italian would be the new left-back for Mourinho.
Arsenal, football.london understands, have no intention of selling Calafiori, and are under no pressure to agree to a sale with the 24-year-old having three years remaining on his contract.
That said, there is perhaps some consideration if Real Madrid were to approach Arsenal and make a ridiculously high financial offer. The Gunners already have Piero Hincapie, and hold an interest in both Nathaniel Brown and Castello Lukeba.
In addition, Calafiori’s availability has been a point of frustration for Arteta and supporters during his time at the club. Since arriving in 2024, he has missed 44 matchday squads for club and country due to injury, across nine separate problems according to Transfermarkt.
In addition, Arteta confirmed that, after playing against Crystal Palace on the final day, he had suffered an issue in midweek, which meant he was unable to both start and come off the bench in the UEFA Champions League final.
When asked to explain his line-up for the final by broadcasters, Arteta said: “Jurrien [Timber] wasn’t ready to start. He’s done really well to at least be in the position to contribute with certain minutes. And with Richy, we’ve had certain issues with him during the week as well, so the others are starting.”
While the player is exceptionally highly rated and the primary response would be to hold onto Calafiori, the reality is that a huge offer would not be ridiculous for Arsenal to completely ignore because of these factors.
