Calafiori Arsenal, Chalobah asking price

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It’s finally ‘here we go’ for Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal. After a lengthy saga, last night Arsenal and Bologna started exchanging all the documents as the deal is all done and confirmed. The next step is to sign all the documents and schedule medical tests for Calafiori, which will take place in the US so he can join Mikel Arteta’s squad for pre-season there.

Another important story with Arsenal is that Fulham have returned with a new proposal for Emile Smith Rowe and now the deal is close. It’s not done yet but could be completed soon if the two clubs agree on details. Crystal Palace wanted Smith Rowe too but Fulham are pushing now, with manager Marco Silva fully involved.

Fulham have also been linked with Scott McTominay and reports of their interest is accurate, though nothing is close or advanced at this stage. For Manchester United it’s been a very clear position since last summer: in case of a good, important proposal McTominay can leave. Otherwise they would be more than happy to keep McTominay at the club.

Chelsea had an important day yesterday as they submitted an official bid to Villarreal for goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen. The Danish goalkeeper has a release clause of €45m, but Chelsea offered €20m, and they have a feeling internally that a deal could be done for something like €25-26m.

Negotiations are ongoing, but the feeling is positive as Jorgensen already agreed on personal terms with Chelsea – salary, length of contract, everything is okay. So now the clubs are working on the details, but their relationship is very good after they worked on the Nicolas Jackson deal last summer.

An important detail is that Jorgensen is considered one of the best goalkeepers around in terms of his distribution skills, and as I’ve reported, that’s an important skill Chelsea have been looking for as it’s really appreciated by Enzo Maresca.

So, it’s a work in progress, but Chelsea have entered the race strongly. The deal looks likely, and I’d expect Jorgensen to compete with Robert Sanchez for the number one spot. Ultimately it will be up to Maresca so we’ll have to see, but we know he values goalkeepers with good distribution like Jorgensen.

Elsewhere…