Bologna’s hold of highly-rated defender Riccardo Calafiori this summer is slipping.
Juventus is understood to be a more than ideal next destination for the 22-year-old in the current window, as reported by Fabrizio Romano.
“We know that Bologna for the last two, three weeks. [They] were hoping to keep the player at the club to say ‘no’ to all the proposals for Riccardo Calafiori,” the CaughtOffside columnist spoke on his personal YouTube channel.
“To have Riccardo Calafiori for Champions League football next season.”
Romano went on to add: “The problem is now after fantastic performances at the Euros, especially against Albania and Croatia. The feeling of Bologna is that they have to look for another player in that position because they expect Calafiori to leave the club this summer.
“They tried to resist but now the feeling is that it’s almost impossible. Why? Because Juventus are still there and have Calafiori in their list. Juventus have the green light from the player since February/March. The player wants to go to Juventus because the manager, Thiago Motta, is there and because, obviously, it’s Juventus.
“But at the same time, Bologna and Juventus don’t have a good relationship, especially the president Joey Saputo because of the Thiago Motta story. So let’s see if Juventus can reach an agreement with Bologna or not. It’s not easy.”
The good news is this then opens the door for Premier League clubs to potentially hijack the transfer.
Liverpool, in particular, may have their own secret weapon in the race for the Serie A star owing to Richard Hughes’ prominent links to Italian football.
The Guardian reporter confirmed: “Meanwhile, Bologna are waiting for Premier League clubs to appear. Arsenal are keeping a close eye on the player, interested, but still not negotiating, making a bid or reaching out to Bologna.
“Let’s see if other clubs will enter because Chelsea are still looking for a left-footed and talented defender and Calafiori is one of the best around.
“And also we know that clubs like Liverpool with sporting director Richard Hughes, who was following Calafiori when he was playing for Roma and Basel, could be also a possibility.”
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The Bologna star played a crucial role in securing Italy’s late draw against Croatia.
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There’s been a fair amount of conflicting information on our supposed transfer pursuits this summer.
Romano noted that a new centre-half was a ‘top priority’ for our recruitment team as recently as two weeks ago.
However, reliable Liverpool insider Ian Doyle told the Echo that the position wasn’t necessarily a priority despite clear admiration for Lille’s Leny Yoro.
As ever with Liverpool, of course, things can quickly change if the right opportunity arises.
Provided that Juventus don’t manage to smooth things over with Bologna following the Motta fiasco, there could very well be a window of opportunity for the Redds and Richard Hughes.
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