“I’ve heard” – 245-appearance legend teases Manchester City transfer interest in 2002-born Euro’s star | OneFootball

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has revealed that Manchester City are tracking Italian international Riccardo Calafiori.

The 22-year-old started all three of Italy’s UEFA European Championship group matches against Albania, Spain and Croatia in Germany, but missed Saturday’s 0-2 loss to Switzerland in the last-16 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin due to suspension.

The defender made 30 Serie A appearances during the recent 2023/24 campaign, and was directly involved in seven goals for Bologna, scoring two goals and registering seven assists in the Italian top-flight.

Calafiori spent his youth career with AS Roma, and spent time at Genoa and FC Basel prior to moving to the Emilia-Romagna region in August 2023, costing Bologna just €4 million last summer and penning a long-term contract until 2027.

The centre-back has been linked with another transfer this summer, with performances in the Serie A and European Championship having alerted a number of Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and Liverpool.

Despite Pep Guardiola having an array of defensive options already at the Etihad Stadium, the 2002-born centre-back is also subject to interest from Manchester City, according to former player and current pundit Micah Richards.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Richards said: “He plays his football for Bologna, and I’ve heard Arsenal and Man City are interested.

“He’s really good on the ball, can score goals, can defend. And when we’ve been doing the games, I’ve been concentrating on [Alessandro] Bastoni, but Calafiori has been equally impressive.

“Calafiori has been amazing. He’s the one everyone’s talking about. All the big clubs are linked with him.”

Manchester City completed the signing of defender Josko Gvardiol last summer for £77.7 million from RB Leipzig, with the 23-year-old making 42 appearances for the Sky Blues during his debut campaign at the Etihad Stadium.