Sources close to Chelsea understand that the Blues are keeping an eye on Riccardo Calafiori’s situation at Arsenal.
Arsenal have signed so many players from Chelsea over the years, adding two to the list last summer through the captures of Kepa Arrizabalaga and Noni Madueke.
Soon, however, there could be a shift in the buying and selling dynamic between the two London rivals, as Chelsea have their eyes on Calafiori.
Mikel Arteta has made Calafiori a better player, but the Italian hasn’t been playing as much as he’d perhaps like recently, due to injuries and Piero Hincapie’s rise.
It seems like a minor situation at Arsenal, but to Chelsea, it’s something worth tracking.
What would your reaction be to Chelsea’s transfer interest in Riccardo Calafiori?
Chelsea are tracking Riccardo Calafiori’s situation at Arsenal
On his Substack, Simon Phillips revealed that Chelsea are eyeing an ambitious, but not impossible, transfer swoop for Calafiori.
His sources claim that the Blues are ‘keeping an eye on’ the defender’s situation at Arsenal, given that he’s ‘not playing much as he wants to be’.
There was also an interesting take that claims that Calafiori is not overly happy about the role he plays at Arsenal, with the player’s preference said to be at centre-back rather than left-back.
Because of this, it’s understood that there’s a ‘chance’ for Chelsea to lure the 23-year-old to Stamford Bridge to offer him a role as a centre-back.
Calafiori himself has previously suggested he’s happy playing as a left-back, despite this report
Anything can happen in football, but it would be a real shock for Calafiori to leave Arsenal to join Chelsea over the potential of playing centrally.
It was only last year that Arsenal’s official website published an interview with the Italian, where he admitted that one of the reasons he joined the Gunners was to play a variety of roles.
Who is Arsenal’s best left-back: RICCARDO CALAFIORI or PIERO HINCAPIE?
“My whole career was mainly at left-back, but then my best season was last year when I was at centre-back. So I’ve changed a lot, but I like the fact I can play in both positions, and maybe even try another one – I don’t know.
“My style of play is not that much different, though. I was doing the same things I am doing now as a left-back, as I was as a centre-back, especially when we attack. That was a big reason why I wanted to come here as well.”
It would be a shock for Calafiori’s stance to have changed so much in such a short space of time, particularly as he’s really thrived at left-back since joining the club.
As mentioned, stranger things have happened in football, but this transfer rumour seems ambitious.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
