Arsenal are very close to completing the signing of Riccardo Calafiori after reaching an agreement with Bologna over the transfer fee, which is set to amount to €40 million plus another €5m in add-ons and a sell-on clause, according to Fabrizio Romano. The only thing remaining to be ironed out are the terms of payment between Bologna and Basel for the 50% sell-on clause the Swiss club had included when they sold the defender to Bologna last year.
Bologna paid Basel a fee of €4m for Calafiori, and in one year they ve managed to increase his value to 10 times that amount. In all competitions, he made a total of 33 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A club, helping them qualify for the Champions League.
The 22-year-old put in some excellent performances fo…
Mauro Icardi scored on his Inter return as the Nerazzurri eased to a much-needed 4-0 Serie A win at 10-man Genoa.
Luciano Spalletti s men lost at home to Lazio on Sunday as Icardi s absence from the team continued to overshadow matters on the pitch, with the Argentina international having not played since he was stripped of the captaincy in February.
But despite calls from a section of Inter fans for Icardi to be axed from the squad this week, he was involved for the first time in almost two months at Genoa and the team looked much better for it.
Roberto Gagliardini netted a 15th-minute opener, before Icardi won a penalty that resulted in a red card for Cristian Romero and dispatched the spot-kick himself.
Icardi celebrated with his team-mates and teed u…
Nuno Espirito Santo insists Nottingham Forest “still have to finish the job” of securing their Premier League safety when they face Burnley at Turf Moor.
Three points clear of 18th-place Luton Town in 17th, Forest are all but safe from relegation, while it would take an unlikely 12-goal swing in the Hatters’ favour to usurp them.
Nevertheless, Nuno is not taking anything for granted and has called for focus from his players, who he saluted for their efforts throughout the campaign.
We still have to finish the job, he said. But credit to the players because it was not an easy season. We have always been able to compete really well in games.
The feeling is always that we should have been better. We have never felt that someone beat us; it was just…
William Saliba’s return to Arsenal in the summer after his loan spell at Marseille presented Mikel Arteta with a selection conundrum in defence. The Frenchman shone in Ligue 1 last season but Arteta already had two very good centre-backs in Ben White and Gabriel Magalhães. They were first choice last season, when Arsenal finished fifth, so Saliba’s return threw a spanner in the works.
Arsenal’s defensive line had a clear pattern last season: the left-back was given the licence to attack and the right-back would tuck inside to ensure the team was not caught out. Takehiro Tomiyasu joined from Bologna last year to carry out this duty at right-back, and he did it brilliantly when fit, but an injury towards the end of the campaign restrict…