Arsenal took their sweet time in completing their first signing of the 2024 summer transfer window in Euro 2024 breakout star Riccardo Calafiori. The Italian defender earned high praises for his heroics in the competition, despite Italy’s short-lived stint. He was compared to AC Milan icon Paolo Maldini and had fans going gaga with his defensive work and attacking contribution.
That is why Mikel Arteta’s side patiently worked on bringing him to the Emirates Stadium. For many fans, Calafiori feels like the perfect final piece of their defensive puzzle. Being able to play both as a centre-back and left-back with ease, the 24-year-old is likely to slot into that left full-back role as the replacement for the erroneous Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The Fantasy Premier League organizers have also bought into the hype of Calafiori by slapping a pretty prominent price on him. The Italian defender’s introductory price on FPL is a whopping 6.0, making him among the most expensive defenders in the game. In fact, only two other defenders in Ben White (6.5) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.5) are priced more than him.
Riccardo Calafiori’s High FPL Price Infuriates Fans
Calafiori’s heroics for Bologna in Serie A last season and performances for Italy in Euro 2024 are major reasons why he’s priced so high. On top of that, the FPL organizers have also taken into account Arsenal’s impeccable defensive record last season when they kept 18 clean sheets. That means the Gunners’ defenders are being treated as high commodity and priced high as they’re almost guarantee to deliver a big points reward.
The high pricing of Calafiori right after he joined Arsenal has caused a bit of a heated debate on social media. Most of the users and even FPL ‘experts’ are convinced that he’s been horribly overpriced and does not warrant the 6.0 valuation at all.
The majority consensus is that Calafiori’s price has inflated by FPL and that he probably better deserved a value or either 5.0 or 5.5. Some fans are confused over what exact metrics were considered when valuing him at 6.0 considered that Calafiori is naturally a centre-back and not a goal contributing defender like Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier or even Andy Robertson.
The Italian defender scored just two goals for Bologna last season and isn’t one that can pop up with goals on a regular basis. Moreover, there is also some doubt over whether exactly Calafiori can become an indispensible, regular starter for Arsenal for the get-go. That is because of the competition in the Gunners’ backline right now.
Even at the left-back role, Calafiori faces competition from the likes of Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and even Jurrien Timber. With Arsenal set to compete strongly in the Champions League next season, where they’ll play eight group games, there is a chance that Mikel Arteta rotates his full-backs heavily and that puts Calafiori’s presence in each game under some doubt.
Some fans believe that the hype that the Italian defender attracted with some impressive performances in Euro 2024 might’ve caused his pricing to be inflated. He was one of Italy’s best player and went viral on social media for his excellent work in setting up a huge goal for Mattia Zacagni in the 1-1 draw against Croatia, which allowed Italy go through to the knockout rounds.
There is some belief that Calafiori’s momentary heroics in the competition has caused his hype to surge. Some fans even jokingly hinted that the Italian defender’s ‘aura’ gained from some cool pictures taken of him during Euro 2024 might’ve also caused his valuation to have surged on FPL.
Why Riccardo Calafiori Deserves 6m Price
With that being said, there is also an argument from some supporters that Calafiori has been priced quite perfectly by FPL. There is some belief that the Italian defender has a very high ceiling due to his immense potential and can be a major success story for Arsenal in the upcoming campaign.
Last season, Calafiori delivered five assists in 30 Serie A games for Bologna. That is why some supporters reckon that he has enough attacking potential and creative impact to deliver a lot of assists for Arsenal and give a big point return as well.
There is also a feeling that the 22-year-old defender can be as good as Josko Gvardiol was last season, when he got six goal contributions (four goals, two assists) for Manchester City and picked up 123 FPL points.
There is a lot of hype around Calafiori’s signing amongst the Arsenal fanbase and for good reason. The 22-year-old showed maturity beyond his years in the Italian backline during Euro 2024 and has that spark to provide an attacking return too.
It might be a gamble spending 6m on a new defender like him on FPL, but with Arsenal’s excellent defensive record last season and his attacking prowess – it could prove to be worth it in the long-term.