Report: Arsenal could sign 'one of the best' players in the world by the end of Tuesday

Arsenal could now announce their first signing of the summer before the end of Tuesday as the club ramp up their pre-season plans.

This time last year, Mikel Arteta had Kai Havertz in place and a deal to sign Declan Rice was also near to completion.

Of course, Euro 2024 and Copa America have delayed things this time around, meaning the end of July and August will be incredibly busy for Premier League clubs.

Arsenal for instance still have five players in Germany fighting to win the Euros, all of Aaron Ramsdale, Bukayo Saka, David Raya, Rice and William Saliba.

And although the competition is delaying deals getting over the line right now, it doesn’t mean the club aren’t working diligently to lay the necessary groundwork elsewhere.

It recently became clear that Arsenal were incredibly keen to sign Italy’s Riccardo Calafiori, who suffered an early exit from the Euros.

Luka Modric of Croatia is challenged by Riccardo Calafiori of Italy during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Croatia and Italy at Footba...

Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images for FIGC

Despite his country’s poor showing, Calafiori’s stock rose significantly, leading Arsenal to make their move, hoping to beat competition from the likes of Chelsea and Juventus.

Arsenal’s move for Riccardo Calafiori could be completed within 24/48 hours

To that end, journalist Daniele Longo has now provided an updated timeline of when Arsenal can expect to complete a deal for Calafiori – who has been hailed as ‘one the best in the world‘.

Sharing his update on the early hours of Monday morning on X, Longo said that Arsenal were now expecting to close a deal within 24/48 hours for the Italian.

The journalist reiterated that the Gunners would pay €50m (£42m) to sign the Bologna star, who won’t be sticking around for the club’s first season back in the Champions League since 1964.

Longo shared: “Arsenal expects to close the Calafiori operation within 24/48 hours.

“50 million plus bonuses to Bologna (of which 40% to Basel). “For Riccardo, contract until 2029 at 4 million (bonuses included) per season.”

In regards to Basel’s involvement, Bologna brought Calafiori back to Italy and the Serie A from Switzerland only last summer.

The Italian spent his whole youth career at AS Roma before he was sold to Basel in 2022 – presenting an opportunity for Bologna just one year later.

And at 22-years-old, Calafiori seems perfectly placed to enhance Arteta’s back line at Arsenal, a defender who can thrive in multiple roles.

That being said, many feel as if Jakub Kiwior will leave north London as a result of Calafiori arriving.