Daniele Rugani is set to leave Juventus for Bologna this summer. The centre-back, who is also attracting interest from Ajax, is seen as a potential successor to Riccardo Calafiori. However, negotiations between Bologna and Arsenal, who are interested, are currently deadlocked.

Negotiations between Arsenal and Bologna have been going badly for some time now. Bologna is sticking to a fixed transfer fee of 50 million euros, while the gunners currently do not want to go further than 40 million plus bonuses. Bologna does not want to know about it and that has partly to do with FC Basel, the club that sold him to Bologna last summer for four million euros plus fifty percent of the profit on a subsequent transfer.

Arsenal are wary of increasing the fixed transfer fee due to the Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). The PSR stipulates that Premier League clubs must not make a loss of more than the equivalent of around £100m every three years. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said last week that the PSR would make it “a bit harder” to secure top transfers, but that the club still wants to deliver “to put together the most competitive team possible”.

Calafiori, one of the few Italians who impressed at the last European Championship, is keen to make the move to the Emirates Stadium. However, he is currently in the waiting room, hoping that a transfer will still get off the ground. Bologna suggested including Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior in the deal, but according to Fabrizio Romano, the Pole sees no point in that.

It remains to be seen whether a deal will come to fruition. If it does, Bologna may end up with Rugani. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the agent of the Italian, who is contracted until mid-2026, has had a meeting with the Bologna club management. In addition to Rugani, Bologna is also interested in Mats Hummels, who is a free agent after leaving Borussia Dortmund.

If Calafiori is sold to Arsenal, it could be bad news for Ajax, who would like to welcome Rugani as an experienced reinforcement, but may miss out. Rugani is also of interest to Al-Shabab, while Genoa and Atalanta have also been mentioned as possible destinations for Rugani.

Bologna, which according to Sky Italia certainly not negative towards a longer of Calafiori, the defender has now requested to report to the training camp in preparation for the 2024/25 season. Calafiori is still contracted at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara for three more seasons.

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