Arsenal-bound Riccardo Calafiori suffered a career-threatening injury and was dropped by Jose Mourinho before becoming Italy's John Stones.
Riccardo Calafiori is a name that sounds easy to pronounce and one that Premier League fans will have to get used to.
This is because the defender is ready to join. Arsenal After the Gunners and Bologna agreed to a rate of £34 million, increasing to £38 million for Calafiori.
Once completed, it will mark the end of a remarkable two years for the Italian international, who was expelled from Rome in the summer of 2022.
Calafiori is now on his way to the top, but he has had to face many obstacles in his career and has survived them all.
This mental strength will help him when he joins Arsenal, where he is likely to form a key part of a team that will try to take down Chelsea. Manchester CityPremier League dominance.
Calafiori was born in Italy's capital Rome and joined Roma's youth academy, where he progressed through the youth ranks and helped the team win a youth title. He was quickly signed by a former top agent. Mino Raiola.
However, just a few months after signing his first professional contract, when he was just 16 years old, he suffered a terrible injury that could have ended his career.
Playing in a UEFA Youth League match, Calafiori was the target of a Horrible tackle that destroyed his kneewith all the meniscus ligaments torn.
Immediately after that injury, Roma… Edin Dzeko He scored three goals against Viktoria Plzen and during the match he paid tribute to the young defender because his injury was serious.
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It was a traumatic incident and Calafiori thought it was all over.
Speaking about the injury, he told Roma TV: “The trip was definitely the hardest thing I faced; I had one knee three times the size of the other, I had a fever and I felt insecure.”
The fact that he can still play football is a minor miracle in itself, but incredibly, that was not the end of the setbacks for Calafiori.
The 22-year-old returned after a long time out and made his debut for Roma's first team in August 2020 against Juventus.
Roma won 3-1 and he played at left-back opposite Federico Bernadeschi before an injury forced him off.
Unfortunately, the following year was not the breakthrough I had hoped for due to COVID and several hamstring injuries.
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Things went from bad to worse when Jose Mourinho arrived at the Italian giants. Despite posting a video about his Instagram As he watched Calafiori, the Italian was soon pushed aside by The Special One.
Calafiori once again played at left-back and started the first three Europa Conference League games of the 2021/22 season, but in the third game, Bodo Glimt crushed Roma 6-1.
Calafiori played the full 90 minutes and then only played two more games before being loaned to Genoa.
He said: “Mourinho? I started off pretty well under him. Then came the game against Bodo. From then on, things went downhill.”
“He put me on the bench and decided to rely on others, but my need and desire was to play.”
But the relationship between the two remains good to this day.
“It was his choice, of course, but I'll also tell you something: Mou and I talk, he's written me several messages and there's a nice relationship between us.”
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The loan to Genoa didn't work out either, so at the end of the season he had to make a big decision and take a big risk by swapping Serie A for Switzerland and Basel.
It turned out to be a life-changing signing for Calafiori as Heiko Vogel decided to convert the Italian into a central defender.
The Basel manager spoke with Sky Sports Germany On the change of position, he said: “I felt that he lacked the speed as a full-back to reach the highest level. Playing as a centre-back, he had more than enough.”
“He didn't think twice: we're going to work together. I put him from full-back to centre and he did well.”
Following the move, Calafiori played the remainder of the season in central defence and earned a move back to Italy to play for Bologna under Thiago Motta.
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His time at Bologna has been a success, with Calafiori playing as a centre-back but moving into midfield to create overloads.
The defender even compared himself to Juan Piedras in a recent interview.
He said: “(John) Stones is my reference.
“His style of play is the most similar to mine. It's not improvisational when I enter the midfield. I follow the coach's instructions.”
Throughout the 2023/24 campaign, he impressed with his ball-carrying ability, something we all saw to great effect in Euro 2024 when he slid through Croatia's midfield and laid off a pass for Mattia Zaccagni to finish and take Italy into the knockout stages.
Unfortunately, Calafiori was suspended for the 2-0 loss to Switzerland, and Gil Azzurri crashed. His absence turned out to be massive.
Despite a terrible tournament for Italy, Calafiori impressed and has now earned a move to the Premier League.
Considering everything he's been through to get to this point, you'd expect him to make the most of this opportunity.
