Arsenal keen on Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori as Bologna offer update on Euro 2024 star's future

Arsenal scouts monitored the performance of the 22-year-old at the current European Championship and were left impressed by the youngster's performance, per The Telegraph, Calafiori appeared in all three of Italy's group games but was suspended for their round of 16 clash where the Azzurri conceded twice against Switzerland and crashed out of the competition.

The Gunners, however, will face competition from Serie A giants Juventus who have been linked with a move for the youngster for quite some time now. The centre-back made 33 appearances across all competitions for Bologna in the 2023/24 campaign as the club finished fifth in the league and secured a Champions League berth. His impressive performance under Thiago Motta's tutelage earned him his maiden national team call-up earlier this year.

Speaking to reporters in Italy, Bologna technical director Giovanni Sartori hinted that the club would listen to serious offers if they come their way. He said, "There is talk of Juventus but also of many other teams. At this moment we will try to keep him. If important requests were to arrive we will have to think about it.

"I am not saying that we will sell him because the president has said that he wants to keep the whole team, but we will certainly make some evaluations. I do not think he will go to Juventus, maybe to a different market, but I repeat that we would like to try to keep him."

The North London side will be back in action at the end of this month as they are set to jet off to the US for pre-season. They are scheduled to play friendlies against Premier League rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.