Juventus looked like the favorites to sign Riccardo Calafiori before Euro 2024 started, but instead of wrapping up the deal for new manager Thiago Motta to sign his Bologna pupil, the Bianconeri are watching the most popular young defender on the transfer market move to the Premier League.
Arsenal look set to close in on Calafiori for a price likely exceeding 50 million euros, which seems to be a good bit more than Juventus were willing to offer.
The Bianconeri instead decided to prioritize signing a third midfielder, gunning for Serie A star Teun Koopmeiners, who could head to Turin shortly.
Juve missing out on Calafiori will disappoint fans, who are probably even more upset about the future of Federico Chiesa, but the silver lining is losing the Calafiori transfer battle could yield a transfer bargain for the Bianconeri.
According to a report from Tuttosport, Riccardo Calafiori joining Arsenal could lead to Juventus signing defender Jakub Kiwior from the Gunners for a meager 15 million euros.
Kiwior was a standout young defender in Serie A himself for lowly Spezia before moving to Arsenal in the winter 2023 transfer window.
Although Kiwior hasn’t locked down a sure fire starting job in North London, the Polish international has impressed and even got starts over Oleksandr Zinchenko by the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
Just 24 years old, Kiwior isn’t nearly as acclaimed as Calafiori, but he is a very good footballer who can start games for Juventus at either left or center back, providing similar versatility.
Juventus don’t have much money to burn, so by saving 40 million euros and still signing a talented defender, Juve can allocate the rest of those resources on positions Thiago Motta and Cristiano Giuntoli view as bigger needs.
That logic is likely why Juventus did not push as hard as Arsenal for Calafiori financially, instead focusing their efforts on a different Serie A standout in Koopmeiners.
Calafiori could be a special, generational defender in Italian football, so Juve are taking a risk here. But at least Kiwior is an economically sound opportunity for the Bianconeri.
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