Transfer Rumour: Three Premier League clubs to battle it out for Mattia Caldara
According to reports in Spain, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are in a three-way battle to acquire the services of Atlanta star Mattia Caldara.
The 22-year-old defender is also wanted by Juventus, who were linked with the centre-back earlier this year, but now face stiff competition from the Premier League trio. The Gunners have sent scouts to watch Caldara in action and have a January offer for the player.
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The young defender spent most of his time tuning his game on loans to Seria B clubs like Trapani and Cesena. Now, the player has finally enjoyed a breakthrough season at Atlanta under current boss Gian Piero Gasperini. The centre-back has played 7 games for the Seria A side and scored thrice for his club.
After spending his last season at Cesena, with a view to a permanent move, the Seria B club decided not to exercise that option and the player returned to Atlanta. The defender’s form has been so impressive that it is now believed to have alerted a number of clubs who are ready to battle it out against each other for his signature.
It is unclear whether the player, born in Bergamo, would want to leave his hometown club so soon after just getting a breakthrough. A product of Atlanta’s youth academy, the player has helped his side keep 5 cleansheets during a 7-match unbeaten run since the start of October.
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It is, however, doubtful that Atlanta would let their player go easily after attracting huge interest from the Premier League. The player is worth £10m but it would cost more than that for any club to acquire his services as Caldara is under contract until 2021 and the club would want to get every last penny by selling Caldara. The club is bracing themselves for a huge bidding war for the player.
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Manchester United are currently facing somewhat of a defensive crisis with Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly sidelined with injuries. Jose Mourinho is also currently looking to strengthen his defence and a move for the 22-year-old defender could be a possibility, and the club are also linked with Southampton defender Virgil Van Dijk.
Conte would be well aware of Caldara’s ability after spending time in charge of the Italian side and Juventus. Arsenal are also in the race to sign the Italian centre-back with Per Mertesacker injured and Gabriel no longer assured a spot in the first-team, Arsene Wenger would be looking to bring in a quality defender as a backup for Mustafi and Koscielny.
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