Arsenal ready to make shock Riccardo Calafiori sale: report

Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal goes down with a injury as Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal checks on him during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD3 match between Arsenal FC and FC Shakhtar Donetsk at Emirates Stadium on October 22, 2024 in London, England. — Riccardo Calafiori has struggled this season (Image credit: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori could be set to return to Serie A after just a year in the Premier League.

Calafiori was the Gunners' headline acquisition last summer, with manager Mikel Arteta said to be the driving force in securing the 22-year-old after a stunning season in which he led Bologna to Champions League football.

Article continues below

Riccardo Calafiori ready for a move back to Italy, with Arsenal setting their price

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is eyeing silverware at the Emirates — Arteta only signed Calafiori last summer (Image credit: Getty Images)

Despite important goals this season away at Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Calafiori has had a frustrating first season in English football with recurring knee knocks, following a serious cruciate ligament injury sustained in 2020 – which could have ended his career.

While the Italian steps up his recovery, 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly – ranked at no.40 in FourFourTwo's list of the most exciting teenagers to watch this season – has emerged to make the left-back spot his own in Arsenal's side, posing serious questions about where Calafiori's future lies.

Arsenal midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly participates in the match between PSV and Arsenal at the Philips Stadium for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 1st leg, season 2024-2025, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, on March 4, 2025. (Photo by Marcel van Dorst / EYE4images/NurPhoto via Getty Images) — Myles Lewis-Skelly has been fantastic for Arsenal this season (Image credit: Getty Images)

MilanLive now reports that Milan are interested in taking the Azzurri international back to his homeland, with Arsenal said to want to recoup the full €35 million they spent on Calafiori's signature.

Having already signed one injury-ravaged Bologna defender in Takehiro Tomiyasu, the Gunners are also facing Kieran Tierney returning to Celtic this summer as per Sky Sports, along with possible exits of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior.

Such flux would leave Arteta extremely short at left-back and left-sided centre-back – though FourFourTwo understands that there is no immediate desire for Calafiori to leave after just a season.

Italian media are often keen to link Italian Premier League stars with returns to Serie A – as English football fans will have seen with Federico Chiesa, Jorginho and Sandro Tonali this season – while Calafiori's injury troubles have largely been attributed to knocks picked up on international breaks, rather than playing for Arsenal.

Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori could not continue at the San Siro — Riccardo Calafiori has picked up most of his injuries on international break (Image credit: Getty Images)

As ever, the power will always lie with the player – and with Calafiori showing no signs of wanting to leave Arsenal, this is an unlikely move to take place unless things significantly change this summer.

Calafiori is worth €40m, according to Transfermarkt. Arsenal host Bournemouth this weekend, as Premier League action returns.

TOPICS

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.