Chelsea hold serious interest in Italy star Riccardo Calafiori and are expected to bid for the Liverpool target alongside Arsenal, sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk.

Calafiori enjoyed a fantastic 2023-24 season with Bologna at club level, putting in a host of dominant performances and making a name for himself as one of the best defenders in Italy during his 37 appearances. The left-footed centre-half, who can also play as a left-back, earned plenty of admirers with Bologna on their route to Champions League qualification and also made it into the Italy squad for Euro 2024.

Calafiori was a breakout star for Italy at the tournament, putting in a series of great displays as they advanced from Group B in second place.

The Rome-born star then picked up a yellow card suspension, though, and missed his country’s last-16 defeat to Switzerland.

Not only has Calafiori been compared to legendary former Italy defenders Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta, due to both his game intelligence and hairstyle, but he has also emerged as a prime target for some of the biggest clubs in England.

Liverpool and Arsenal have both been linked with Calafiori in recent weeks. And earlier on Tuesday, it emerged that the 22-year-old is ‘open’ to joining Arsenal, should they strike an agreement with Bologna for him.

TEAMtalk can now provide an update on the highly rated defender’s future. Italian sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk correspondent Fraser Gillan that Arsenal are expected to launch an opening offer for Calafiori in the near future, but they will not be alone.

Chelsea are very keen to land Calafiori too and will submit a rival bid for the rising star.

Chelsea transfers: Riccardo Calafiori a serious target

Calafiori previously set his sights on following former Bologna boss Thiago Motta to Juventus, but there is now the very real prospect of him arriving in England ahead of the 2024-25 season.

In a major boost for both Chelsea and Arsenal, Bologna technical director Giovanni Sartori has suggested Juve could be beaten to the player’s signing by a rival suitor.

“We only signed Calafiori 12 months ago, so we’ll see what happens, but in our minds we want to keep him,” he told reporters at a recent event.

“There has been talk of Juventus, but also many other clubs. If we were to receive big offers, we’d have to think about it.

“I don’t think he will go to Juventus, it will probably be abroad, but I repeat we will try to keep him.”

Should the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool enter a transfer tussle for Calafiori, then the Blues have a good chance of coming out on top, despite having finished further down the table last season.

That is because Calafiori said in 2022: “My dream would be to play in the Premier League. I really like West Ham or Chelsea.”