Chelsea have joined the race for Bologna defender Calafiori and have been approached by both the club and the player, who are willing to offer a long-term contract and a higher salary to secure the player's arrival, which the Italian media say is a "rapid increase" from the player's current salary. It is also through the way of high salaries and extended contracts that Chelsea, which is not very competitive in the transfer market, still has the possibility of competing with top giants, including Champions League champion Real Madrid.
With his impressive performances in Serie A last season, Calafiori has caught the attention of a number of big clubs this summer, and as a left-footed defender and versatile at the back who can adapt to multiple positions at centre-back and left-back, Calafioli has become a key target for a number of clubs, including Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea. Bologna also understand that they cannot keep players at the moment and have started to contact other clubs early, but to sign Calafiori, they need to meet their transfer fee requirements.
It is reported that the current contract between Bologna and Calafiori will expire in 3 years, and the transfer fee required by Bologna is 50 million euros, which is not very high for the big teams, whether it is Real Madrid or Chelsea are fully capable of paying, at this time the attitude of the players is crucial. In previous interviews, Calafiori has said that he wants to play in the Premier League, which is one of Chelsea's advantages against Real Madrid.
Judging from last season's performance, Calafiori was the best player in the Bologna backline, and he had a very good performance at both ends of the pitch, both in terms of interceptions and clearances on the defensive end, as well as his ability to play and assist in the offensive end, which brought great help to the team. With his current ability, it will be difficult to join a team at a big level to become the heart of the defence, but Calafioli is only 22 years old and has just started his career, so as long as he stays healthy, his future growth is still very much worth looking forward to.
Chelsea's results in the league last season did not meet the team's expectations, and the pace of development of the players was not very fast. At the back, Chelsea have a number of outstanding young players, but at least at this stage, Chelsea still need to continue to strengthen at the back, and if they can sign Calafiori, Chelsea will indeed have a chance to strengthen them. However, the deal has not yet reached the time when the dust has settled, and Chelsea still need to complete negotiations as soon as possible and complete the signing as soon as possible.