Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori could be set to return to Serie A after just a year in the Premier League.
Calafiori was the Gunners’ headline acquisition last summer, with manager Mikel Arteta said to be the driving force in securing the 22-year-old after a stunning season in which he led Bologna to Champions League football.
Recognised by FourFourTwo in our list of the best left-backs in the world, Calafiori became the fourth-most expensive Italian player of all time upon making the deal, as Arsenal were said to have beaten Real Madrid to the signing.
Riccardo Calafiori ready for a move back to Italy, with Arsenal setting their price
Despite important goals this season away at Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Calafiori has had a frustrating first season in English football with recurring knee knocks, following a serious cruciate ligament injury sustained in 2020 – which could have ended his career.
While the Italian steps up his recovery, 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly – ranked at no.40 in FourFourTwo’s list of the most exciting teenagers to watch this season – has emerged to make the left-back spot his own in Arsenal’s side, posing serious questions about where Calafiori’s future lies.
MilanLive now reports that Milan are interested in taking the Azzurri international back to his homeland, with Arsenal said to want to recoup the full €35 million they spent on Calafiori’s signature.
Having already signed one injury-ravaged Bologna defender in Takehiro Tomiyasu, the Gunners are also facing Kieran Tierney returning to Celtic this summer as per Sky Sports, along with possible exits of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior.
Such flux would leave Arteta extremely short at left-back and left-sided centre-back – though FourFourTwo understands that there is no immediate desire for Calafiori to leave after just a season.
Italian media are often keen to link Italian Premier League stars with returns to Serie A – as English football fans will have seen with Federico Chiesa, Jorginho and Sandro Tonali this season – while Calafiori’s injury troubles have largely been attributed to knocks picked up on international breaks, rather than playing for Arsenal.
As ever, the power will always lie with the player – and with Calafiori showing no signs of wanting to leave Arsenal, this is an unlikely move to take place unless things significantly change this summer.
Calafiori is worth €40m, according to Transfermarkt. Arsenal host Bournemouth this weekend, as Premier League action returns.
