Arsenal have received a couple of boosts in the race to sign Riccardo Calafiori, with Bologna now expecting a sale and Juventus looking at other deals.

Arsenal have been linked with Bologna and Italy centre-back Riccardo Calafiori in recent days, but initial reporting on the interest threw up a couple of potential roadblocks.

For a start, Bologna director Marco Di Vaio was on record as saying they want to keep the defender. Then there was also serious interest from Juventus to cause Arsenal problems.

Yet there have been some more recent signs that the situation might be changing in Arsenal’s favour.

Fabrizio Romano reports that despite the initial plan to keep Calafiori, Bologna now fear that will be almost impossible. They’re expecting significant bids for him soon.

Meanwhile, Sami Mokbel claims Juventus have joined Chelsea in making an enquiry for Nottingham Forest defender Murillo. It seems unlikely they’d bring both Murillo and Calafiori in the same summer.

But it’s not all good news. Romano’s update confirms that Juventus received the green light from Calafiori himself in May, and it’s seemingly only Bologna they need to convince.

Though the Italian journalist claims Premier League clubs are keen, with Arsenal rumoured to be one of them, it seems Juventus have a headstart.

Arsenal do have an existing relationship with Bologna, as the Serie A club sold them Takehiro Tomiyasu not too long ago. Still, we’ve seen in the past plenty of times that Italian players playing in Serie A tend to prefer to remain in the division.

Players like Manuel Locatelli have been credibly linked with Arsenal during major tournaments in the past only to decide to join Juventus instead.