Arsenal end their interest in £70m England star as they turn their attention to £42m Italian wonderkid

Premier League title-hopefuls Arsenal have been priced out of a monster move for England international Marc Guehi according to reports.

Mikel Arteta’s side are believed to be huge admirers of the Crystal Palace centre back, who played a defining role in helping England reach just their second ever European Championship final.

Guehi played a total of six games throughout the tournament, in Harry Maguire’s absence, and proved himself to be one of the very best defenders that the country has to offer.

The 23-year-old has played 98 league games in three seasons for Crystal Palace since making the move from Chelsea and has been lauded for his defensive intelligence, strength and composure in possession. He played a key role in helping the Eagles record just their second top-half finish in the Premier League era last term and is seen as a huge part of Oliver Glasner’s team going forward.

Arsenal, who are in search of a third centre back, to compete with Gabriel and William Saliba, were thought to be mulling over a move for Guehi, but after an initial enquiry have now shelved their interest due to Crystal Palace’s hefty £70m price tag.

The Mirror reports that Chelsea are entitled to a 20 percent cut of any future sales involving Guehi and understands that Crystal Palace are hugely reluctant to sell any more first team stars after Michael Olise’s switch to Bayern Munich earlier this month.

Arsenal push for agreement with £42m rated defender

The Evening Standard reports that Arsenal have turned their attention to highly-rated Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori after a superb debut season at Bologna.

The 22-year-old, who started his career at Roma, is now regarded as one of the best defenders in Italian football after an incredible campaign which saw him play 30 times last term as Bologna secured Champions League football for the first time since the 1964/65 campaign.

Calafiori is renowned for his physicality, positioning and ability to tightly mark his opponents and has thrived in recent months. This earned him a call up to Italy’s Euro 2024 squad where he featured in three games before their round of 16 exit.

The youngster is renowned for his versatility and is capable of playing both as a left back and as a central defender. Arsenal are working hard to get the deal done and have made an opening offer of around £34m but reports in Italy believe this is insufficient and claim that Bologna are holding out for at least £42m as Calafiori begins pre-season preparations with the Red and Blues.