Football
Arsenal have transfer bid ‘accepted’ and set deadline to make first summer deal
Arsenal plan to strengthen their squad during the summer transfer window and haven been linked to Riccardo Calafiori and Nico Williams as they aim to improve their Premier League chances
The transfer window is well underway but Arsenal have yet to complete a signing to improve their first team squad.
Sporting director Edu and boss Mikel Arteta hope to strengthen the Gunners in the coming weeks but have been unable to work at the pace of 12 months ago. Then, they had already signed Kai Havertz and sold Pablo Mari to Monza, while Granit Xhaka was just days away from a move to Bayer Leverkusen.
The north London side still have plenty of ambitions to go one step further to win the Premier League after falling short as runners-up for the second season in a row. Soon, Euro 2024 will end and Arsenal will head on their pre-season tour of the United States and Arteta will be keen to see any new arrivals travel with him.
Arsenal may just be making some progress. Mirror Football takes a look at some of the transfer news surrounding the club below.
Bologna ‘accept’ Arsenal offer
Arsenal are said to have seen a £42million bid accepted for Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori. That offer has proven enough to persuade Bologna to part ways with their star after the Serie A side had previously turned down a bid just short of £40m.
Bologna are reported by TuttoMercatoWeb, per Sport Witness, to have ‘said yes’. Calafiori is also said to have been convinced by the Gunners’ proposal and a move could unfold quickly.
Arsenal are ahead of Chelsea in their bid to sign the 22-year-old. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano suggests that Arteta’s team are moving more quickly.
“Arsenal, because Arsenal have presented their proposal to Riccardo Calafiori,” said Romano. “A contract proposal long-term, the salary is not an issue at all because Calafiori is on a normal salary at Bologna, so there is not going to be a problem.”
Gunners set deadline
While things appear to be progressing well for Calafiori, Arsenal may have some requirements of their own for the deal. They want to see it completed in time for their pre-season tour.
Their first fixture across the Atlantic is against Bournemouth on July 24. That leaves less than three weeks to tie up the signing and introduce Calafiori to the squad.
The Emirates could prove a preferred destination for Bologna to take advantage of however. The club’s technical director Giovanni Sartori wants to see a move outside of Serie A should he be forced to part ways.
“We will try to keep Calafiori but if important offers arrive we will have to take them into consideration,” he told Sky Sports Italia. “I don’t think he will go to Juventus. He will probably go to a different market.”
Nico Williams transfer statement
Spain star Nico Williams, who has been linked to a transfer to Arsenal and Chelsea this summer, will not entertain the prospect of leaving Athletic Bilbao until after Euro 2024. Williams is set to take on Germany on Friday evening in the quarter-final of the competition, with Spain being one of the tournament’s more impressive sides.
The 21-year-old suggests he would be distracted if he was aware of any possibility of a move this summer. As a result, his family and representatives will not discuss any approaches until after Spain’s campaign.
“In the end, my brother [Athletic team-mate Inaki Williams] is a very important person for me . He has lived a similar situation to mine,” he told Spanish publication AS.
“He has also had offers from outside Athletic, but I said that I didn’t want to know anything about what comes from outside, about signings or stories.
“They know what I am like, the personality I have, and I don’t like to know because I get distracted easily. I prefer to focus on one thing and go for it. Because if one thing or another comes to me, in the end my head doesn’t work very well.
“My agent, my parents and my family know me perfectly and they know that I don’t want to hear anything until the Euros are over.”
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