HANDSOME ITALIAN CENTRE BACK ON RADAR
It is a bright and sunny day in America, and I’ve awoken to transfer rumblings. Charles Watts has said on his YouTube channel that Arsenal is interested in Bologna's flavor of the month, Riccardo Calafiori. The 22-year-old Italian was a rare bright spot in an otherwise challenging Euro 2024 for the holders.
Why is this rumor interesting? Firstly, he’s played under Thiago Motta who is a proponent of the total football model Arteta and Guardiola riff off of. We’re also pretty sure Arsenal is going to hunt down a left-sided center-back this summer, someone a bit like Gvardiol (if they can). Someone aggressive, great on the ball, with the added bonus of being able to carry the ball out of defense like a lunatic. Jorrel Hato has that profile, and we were looking at him before he signed his new deal. Kiwior is supposed to have that profile, but I don’t think he’s up to the physical rigor of the Premier League.
What Kiwior does potentially represent is a trading chip because he was doing bits in Serie A, and a lot of clubs remember him. He’s also the player that would have to exit if we were to make a deal with anyone. We’d also have to sell Kieran Tierney. The club would also take money for Zinchenko. Basically, there’s a lot of work to be done before Arteta can engage with a left-sided center-back. Anyway, the big money is on Juventus, who have just hired Thiago Motta, who managed Calafiori at his last club. Premier League clubs can never compete with other Italian clubs, and Italian players almost never want to leave their beautiful part of Europe, which, to me, is a little bit racismo.
London is actually pretty good, sir.
Take a little look at his skills.
WILLIAM SALIBA - my word. What a performance he put on against Belgium. What about those dancing feet when he picked up the ball in their box, shuffled some space, and narrowly missed the target? More like Thierry Saliba… or, given that he missed, Olivier Saliba. The worry here is that Madrid will be feasting their eyes on his talents, and we’ll be getting rattled next year with headlines like "AGENT MBAPPE SHARES A SMOOTHIE WITH SALIBA AND TALKS ABOUT MOVE."
My gut says the French superstar is going to be the first major player of the new era to leave us hugging a blanket, listening to Taylor Swift breakup songs. It’s gonna be hard, so get your therapist booked now and start making space for yourself to grieve.
Blitz done.
Transfer rumors are almost non-existent elsewhere. The Athletic reports that we’re not going big on anyone this summer after the Sesko deal faded. They’ve also confirmed there’s little interest in Aaron Ramsdale so far, which would put an end to the Joan Garcia rumors. Shifting players hasn’t been easy for Arsenal, and it’s particularly painful when you see Chelsea getting £19m for Omari Hutchinson, while we have someone like Reiss Nelson who would do a better job in a league he’s actually played in. Is the £100k a week the problem? Are we asking for too much money? Or do we have a group of players that just bloody love London Colney and being part of a squad on the rise even if they’re not playing?
We’ll find out over the coming weeks.
If you like podcasts, me and Matt dropped one last night. You can access it here if you sign up for Le Grove Membership. When the season starts, it’ll be $7 for membership here. If you sign up before, there’s a season offer for $5. That is access to all the content, advert-free, all season, plus the member discord and the LIVE stuff.
Ok, that’s me done. Quick poll for you to fill out.
