A new obstacle has emerged in Arsenal‘s pursuit of Italy international defender Riccardo Calafiori.
The Gunners had intended to sign a contract with Bologna prior to leaving for their preseason tour of the United States.
After playing Bournemouth in less than a week, Mikel Arteta’s team will play Manchester United and Liverpool on July 28 and August 1, respectively.
It seems less and less likely, though, that Calafiori will be prepared to play in any of those games.
According to reports on Wednesday, Arsenal and Bologna have now reportedly agreed on a cost of €40 million; however, there has been a delay as a result of a disagreement over a sell-on clause between the Serie A club and his former employers, Basel.
The Times claims that the two teams are still negotiating over a price, and that Jakub Kiwior’s unwillingness to go on as a makeweight for Bologna adds to the complexity.
The Poland international moved to Arsenal from Spezia eighteen months prior, but Mikel Arteta had him wait his turn before offering him a chance in the main squad.
The 24-year-old was elevated halfway through the previous season due to injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jurrien Timber as well as Oleksandr Zinchenko’s decline in form.
His arrival on the squad was accompanied by a scorching run of form. After being replaced at halftime in a Champions League match against Bayern Munich, Kiwior struggled mightily against Leroy Sane and only made three more appearances the following season.
For their part, Bologna is in negotiations with Juventus over a deal for Daniele Rugani and would be eager to recruit a defender who can play both center-half and left back.
Although it is believed that Kiwior would be at ease returning to Serie A, his choice would be to sign with AC Milan, who have had a long-standing interest in him.