Liverpool have been encouraged to hijack Arsenal’s move for Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori.
Calafiori excelled at Euro 2024 despite Italy’s disappointing last-16 defeat to Switzerland, and the Gunners are close to signing him.
Calafiori, who can play both centre-back and left-back, also impressed for Bologna during the 2023-24 season, appearing in 33 games as the Serie A club qualified for the Champions League.
Arsenal are expected to buy the 22-year-old for roughly £42 million, but ex-Anfield star Didi Hamann has recommended Liverpool to make a late move for Calafiori.
Although Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate have established a strong center-back duo at Liverpool, Hamann believes Calafiori would start if he were to sign this summer.
Hamann told Top Offshore Casinos, “It’s not surprising that Italy put in a terrible performance when he missed their game against Switzerland because Riccardo Calafiori is a very good player and is so comfortable on the ball.”
They were terrible from beginning to end. That followed his setup of Croatia’s last-minute equalizer.
‘I think Virgil van Dijk said he wants to stay and he wants to be with his fellow countryman Arne Slot, he wants to help him get back to winning ways at Liverpool.
‘Ibrahima Konate is a brilliant defender but just has too many injuries, so Calafiori would be a very good player depending on how much he’d cost.
‘He’s certainly a player that would be a starter for Liverpool given what he did for his club last season and for his country.
‘He’s the type of player who improves your team and obviously that’s mighty important when you want to challenge for trophies.’
Arne Slot will be in charge of Liverpool next season after the ex-Feyenoord boss replaced Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
Hamann, who helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2005, believes Slot faces an ‘almost impossible job’ in his first year on Merseyside.
‘You can compare it to Arsene Wenger leaving Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson leaving Manchester United, but somebody has to do it,’ he added.
‘A few managers may have been put off because following Klopp is near enough impossible. But then again, it’s an opportunity, it’s a chance for Arne Slot.
‘He probably thought that if he turned it down he might never get a chance to manage Liverpool again.
‘So he’s got every right to take the job and be confident about his own ability and so far he’s saying the right things. I do like what I see.
‘At first I thought, it doesn’t matter who goes there because next year is almost impossible. But the more I think about it, the more I hear and see from him, the more confident I am because he seems like a very humble and normal guy.
‘I think the one thing that goes against him might be expectations. I think that’s probably he’s got to somehow manage that, which is very hard because if the fans think we should finish in the top three or should win a trophy, it’s very hard to make them think otherwise.
‘But I think expectations might be a bit too big for what they can or probably will achieve next season.’