When Riccardo Calafiori moved from Bologna to Arsenal in the summer of 2024, people wondered whether another defensive recruit was the best use of the team’s money in that window. Indeed, in the immediate term, the transfer proved frustrating, but his quality has come through for the Gunners.
Now, it appears that the Italian is on the radar of Real Madrid, who have a busy summer in waiting to try to get back to their typically demanding standards. The noise is not dying about the rumours of a move to Madrid for the 24-year-old, so how does this story stack up on both sides of the equation?
·Why are Real Madrid courting Calafiori?
A quick look at the doctor’s table tells a simple story about why Real would want to acquire Calafiori. Most of the defensive unit has been decimated through injuries in the last three years for Los Blancos.
Dani Carvajal has departed the club after suffering two serious knee injuries in the last two seasons, and fellow right back Trent Alexander-Arnold has endured a disruptive first year in the white half of the Spanish capital. But the fitness situation has been even worse for the left side of the backline.
Ferland Mendy is set to spend another significant stint on the sidelines because a tear in his right quadriceps. The French fullback has been blighted with injuries during his time with the team, and other options at left back have had to be put in place. However, David Alaba has called time on his five-year stint at Real, and Fran Garcia is widely deemed to be below the level required for the role.
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Alvaro Carreras came back to the club after a successful spell at Benfica, but his early season form has dipped, and his qualities cannot cover for another big hole that remains in the centre of defence. After cruciate ligament injuries in back-to-back seasons, Eder Militao has suffered a hamstring tear.
If Calafiori came into the mix, he could feature as a left back or a left centre back (a role that he has rarely fulfilled for the Gunners only on account of the brilliance of Gabriel Magalhaes at the back.)
Spanish outlet AS are one of several sources to suggest that positional flexibility and experience across both roles is a key demand from Jose Mourinho, who is set to be the new Real Madrid boss.
Mourinho was the managerial candidate that Florentino Perez put forward should he be re-elected to his role as the President of Los Blancos. That bid has been successful, so the Portuguese is ready to restore the club to the heights that he achieved when he sat in the dugout between 2010 and 2013.
Given the personnel problems at the back, reinforcements in this area of the field are firmly on the agenda. Josko Gvardiol has been touted as the alternative to Calafiori on Mourinho’s wish list, but there may be a preference for the Italian who has already worked with the ‘Special One’ at Roma.
·Should Arsenal consider a possible transfer?
Whether or not interest from Los Blancos is concrete, it is worth wondering if Arsenal would let go of a player who has created conversation among different factions of the fanbase in the last two years.
When Calafiori can get himself on the pitch, his qualities cannot be denied. From his full debut at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City in September 2024, he has illustrated a capacity for crisp, forward-thinking actions as a fullback, and his availability has allowed the team to be at their best.
In the first half of the season, the tandem between Leandro Trossard and Calafiori was arguably the standout relationship in the Arsenal attack, and his presence in a settled back four enhanced the stability of the side at the other end of the field. Then down the backend of the campaign, the Italy international renewed that fruitful relationship with Trossard with the additional wrinkle of Myles Lewis-Skelly stepping into the midfield, and the winger worked his way back into his best form.
As Arsenal have adapted to such a unique profile of player, they have found sustainable solutions to a left sided unit that has struggled for chemistry and fluidity since the 2022/23 season. More to the point, Calafiori can elevate the attack in a way that has allowed Mikel Arteta to double down on defensive solidity without the need for compromise through a more lights-out left winger.
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However, every player does have a price, and in the case of Calafiori, fitness is a factor that has limited his impact for the Gunners. Knee and calf injuries forced him to spend nearly six months on the sidelines in his debut campaign with the club, while the marked drop-off in form from the team at the beginning of 2026 coincided with knocks and muscle issues that meant more time out of action.
In his absence, Arteta has established alternative options. Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko were still on the books of the first team in 2024, and Lewis-Skelly seamlessly shifted into the role for the first five months of 2025. Once Calafiori was injured this season, the squad already had a clear replacement in the form of Piero Hincapie, who had joined on a loan deal from Bayer Leverkusen.
Arsenal will not want to weaken from a position of strength, but an exit for Calafiori would not mean crisis for the firm foundations that Arteta has implemented. If the club were to receive an adequate offer in light of his fitness problems, it is a proposition that should not be dismissed entirely.
But there are still three years left on the contract of the 24-year-old, and as the Gunners picked up their first major honour in six years, there is a wave to ride in North London now more than ever.
It is safe to say that any deal would have to be lucrative to suit all parties.