Report: Despite interest from abroad, Riccardo Calafiori wants to stay in Italy
04/05/2024 00:42
That's good considering Juventus also play in Italy.
Riccardo Calafiori is not the only Bologna figure in which Cristiano Giuntoli is currently targeting and wanting to bring to Turin, but there's no denying that he is a very important one.
And even as there's reports of interest from, it appears Giuntoli can maybe bank on this piece of information: the Rome-born Calafiori would like to stay in Italy.
According to TuttoJuve's Mirko Di Natale, Calafiori's preference is to remain in Italy next season despite interest from Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen as well as big spenders Tottenham and Newcastle in the Premier League. This comes as Juventus and Bologna continue talks to try and reach the framework of an agreement for the 21-year-old defender who can play in the center or outside on the left.
Calafiori is being viewed as one of Juventus' big targets this summer and the kind of deal they want to get done early in the summer, according to reports.
Bologna want at least €25 million for Calafiori, although recent reports suggest (unsurprisingly) that Juventus will try and insert young player or two into the deal to try and bring down the transfer fee down.
Proseguono i contatti per Riccardo #Calafiori. L'accordo tra le parti, come già specificato, non c'è ancora, ma per la #Juve rappresenta uno dei nomi più concreti su cui voler investire in estate. La volontà del calciatore, accostato all'estero a #Leverkusen, #NUFC e #THFC, è di… pic.twitter.com/unuTzw60Ga
— Mirko Di Natale (@_Morik92_) May 3, 2024
A young Italian who reportedly wants to stay in Italy despite interest from teams in Germany and England — and probably a bigger financial outlay because of it — is certainly something that helps Juventus' hopes of securing a deal for Calafiori, who returned to Italy last summer after spending a year in Switzerland with FC Basel.
A lot of that desire to stay in Italy probably has to do with the fact that the team that is viewed to be sitting in pole position to sign him, Juventus, is also heavily linked with bringing in his current head coach when the 2023-24 season comes to an end. (Thiago Motta didn't say much about his future once again on Friday after Bologna's scoreless draw with Torino on Friday night.)
Put those two important things together and, well, hopefully you have one of Italy's best young players becoming a Juventus signee in a matter weeks. (Because the last thing this summer needs is a drawn out transfer saga over a player Giuntoli clearly wants.)
When asked about his future following the draw with Torino, Calafiori said: "Am I the object of desire of the big clubs? I read something, but you know more than me. I'm only thinking about Bologna. We can write history by reaching the Champions League. I dream of going to the European Championship with the national team."
