This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive transfer news via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io
Riccardo Calafiori has made an impressive start with Italy at the Euros, but many of you will also know just how well he was playing at Bologna in Serie A all season. So what’s his situation in the transfer market this summer? Thiago Motta has of course just left Bologna to become Juventus manager, and we can say that Juve remain the favourites to sign Calafiori this summer.
Juventus have been working on the Calafiori deal for some time, they have a green light from the player as he’s keen on the move. The contract and salary won’t be a problem, but the issue at the moment is with Bologna – they really want to keep the player and they will make life difficult for Juventus or any other club interested in Calafiori.
For Bologna, it’s important to keep Calafiori as they will play next season in the Champions League and are already likely to lose another important player in Joshua Zirkzee, who has a €40m release clause. So this is why keeping Calafiori is crucial and Bologna will fight to do it.
Another reason is that Swiss club Basel, who signed Calafiori from Roma two years ago, would receive over 40% of any future sale worth over €6m. This is a big percentage, and so this is why it is not easy for Bologna to set a normal price for Calafiori – it has to be bigger because of this high percentage.
Still, Juventus are still there, Motta sees Calafiori as a crucial piece for the future, and Calafiori is keen on the move, so let’s see what happens. Negotiations won’t be easy as Bologna want to keep the player, or hope that maybe a crazy offer arrives from abroad, perhaps a club in England.
Germany have been my favourite performers of the Euros so far, but obviously it’s…
..
