Leonardo Bonucci has effectively confirmed Riccardo Calafiori is signing for Arsenal after admitting he is sorry to see the player leaving Italy.
Calafiori, 22, is closing in on signing for the Gunners after they agreed to a payment structure with Bologna on Saturday. The breakthrough in negotiations comes weeks after finalising personal terms with the player.
What percentage Calafiori's former club Basel will receive from the move has only complicated talks to sign the defender. But less than 12 months after returning to Italy following a season in Switzerland, the Premier League now beckons, much to the disappointment of Bonucci.
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Speaking to Sky Sport while attending the Giffoni Film Festival, the recently-retired player spoke about Serie A losing Calafiori. "I'm sorry about his transfer," Bonucci acknowledged. "I would have liked to see him at Juventus.
"He's a defender who's a little different to what we're used to seeing. He plays, has personality and fits in. We're 'exporting' a great player who will be a point of reference for the national team for the next 15 years."
That is high praise from a player who had 121 caps for Italy, more than all but Gianluigi Buffon (176), Fabio Cannavaro (136) and Paolo Maldini (126). Especially considering Calafiori only made his senior debut in early June and has played just four times since that cameo at left-back.
But the Rome native quickly established himself alongside Alessandro Bastoni at the European Championship. That reputation then only rose in his absence through suspension for Italy's exit in the first knockout round to Switzerland.
Those performances followed a fine first season with Bologna, in which they qualified for the Champions League after finishing fifth in Serie A, ahead of Calafiori's boyhood club Roma. Bouncci, who previously played against the defender when Juventus hosted Roma four years ago, is impressed by his successor in central defence.
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