Chelsea were keen to sign Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna before the Italian defender completed his move to Arsenal in the summer of 2024. The Blues wanted a centre-back/left-back hybrid who could provide competition for both Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella.

Calafiori attracted plenty of interest after impressing for Bologna in Serie A and Italy at Euro 2024, but Arsenal ultimately won the race for his signature. Chelsea even tried to hijack the deal but missed out following an embarrassing moment. However, things may have worked out for the best, with Jorrel Hato now at the West London club.

How Chelsea’s failed Riccardo Calafiori hijack led to Jorrel Hato

According to The Telegraph’s Sam Dean, Arsenal’s pursuit of Riccardo Calafiori was made “more challenging” by interest from Real Madrid and Chelsea. The then-21-year-old defender would have fitted the Blues’ model of signing young players with the potential to develop into world-class superstars.

Even though Arsenal led the transfer race throughout the summer of 2024, Chelsea refused to give up on Calafiori. This led to an embarrassing situation, as the Blues “called Bologna to ask about Calafiori while the Italians were in a meeting with Arsenal”.

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Needless to say, Chelsea’s hijack attempt fell flat, and Arsenal signed the defender for a fee that could rise to £42 million with add-ons. Calafiori has since developed into one of the world’s best left-backs and was integral to the Gunners’ Premier League title-winning campaign.

Having missed out on Calafiori, Chelsea signed two left-footed defenders in the same window: Renato Veiga and Aaron Anselmino. While Anselmino was a more orthodox central defender, Veiga had a profile very similar to Calafiori’s.

The Portuguese defender impressed in his first six months at Stamford Bridge after joining from Basel, but he grew frustrated playing on the left rather than in the centre of defence. Veiga then joined Juventus on loan for the second half of the 2024/25 campaign before leaving permanently for Villarreal last summer.

The silver lining for Chelsea’s need to sign another left-sided defender in 2025 was that Ajax’s Jorrel Hato became available. Hato arrived with a bigger wonderkid reputation than either Calafiori or Veiga, and he has started to fulfil his potential in a Blues shirt.

Hato started at left wing-back in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Everton last weekend, replacing the injured Pep Chavarria. He assisted Pedro Neto’s opening goal and delivered a complete performance that suggested he should keep his place in the team.

Although most Premier League fans would consider Calafiori the far better player, given his contribution to a league title, Hato’s statistics are arguably more impressive. DataMB ranks players against others in their position across Europe’s top seven leagues and offers percentile rankings for various metrics.

Jorrel Hato vs Riccardo Calafiori: 2026/27 percentile rankings

Hato ranks slightly lower than Calafiori in expected assists (xA) and progressive passes, but significantly higher for progressive carries, possession won and defensive duel percentage. This could partly reflect Chelsea’s greater defensive workload than Arsenal’s, but Hato has been stronger defensively than his Italian counterpart.

Missing out on Calafiori was a shame for Chelsea at the time, and he could well have succeeded in West London, but things have worked out well. At 20, Hato could become a key figure for the Blues over the next decade, and the signs have been encouraging so far.