David Ornstein suggests people are telling him something worrying for Arsenal about Riccardo Calafiori

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Riccardo Calafiori looks as though he could be Arsenal’s first signing of the summer.

The Italian’s move to the Emirates appears to be imminent, with a fee of around £42m mooted.

Arsenal look set to splash the cash on Calafiori, but there is some fear that the Gunners are getting the rough end of this deal.

Indeed, speaking on The Athletic FC Podcast, David Ornstein has shared some insight into Calafiori, and he claims that he’s heard from his contacts within the game that the Italian is being overpriced at £42m.

Riccardo Calafiori is overpriced

Ornstein shared what he knows about the Italian.

“I think they’re asking for around €50m (£42m), which many people within the game feel is significantly above his market value and they are suggesting to me that has been inflated by the fact he did ok for Italy at the Euros and there’s another complication that Basel are due maybe 40/50% of any future transfer,” Ornstein said.

Calafiori’s price sounds right

£42m for a player who has never played in the Champions League would’ve sounded ridiculous at one point in time, but the reality is that football transfers have become beyond ridiculous.

We live in a world where Antony and Mykhaylo Mudryk cost upwards of £80m, there’s seemingly no rhyme or reason as to why any player costs any specific amount anymore.

Calafiori’s £42m is comparable to the £50m deal Arsenal did for Ben White a few years ago. Both men were a similar age when they moved and played in similar positions.

While White was playing in a struggling Brighton team and wasn’t capped for England, Calafiori is an Italy international playing for a high-flying Bologna side.

From the outside looking in, £42m genuinely sounds about right for a player of this age and this pedigree. Apparently though, people within football think he’s a tad too expensive, which doesn’t bode well for Arsenal.