Current Analogue
Josko Gvardiol
Manchester City
WD
Open full comparisonArsenal🇮🇹 Italy
Riccardo Calafiori
left-footed CB/LB · aggressive progression · midfield incursions
- Position
- D(L)
- Age
- 24
- Height
- 188 cm
- Foot
- Left
BRSBest Role Score
87
Best roleWing-back
Source-linked · calibration provisional
About this assessment
BRS means Best Role Score: our assessment of a player in their best role.
Supporting sources are linked, but the scoring scale is still being checked. This score may change.
BRS v2 · 2025–26
Scouting detail
left-footed CB/LB · aggressive progression · midfield incursions
Metronomeestablished
General
Positions
D(L)
Converted from recorded positions. Positional familiarity has not been assessed.
The comparisons
A way to understand the player’s game.
Historical Analogue
Jan Vertonghen
Tottenham Hotspur 2012-2016
A centre-back who turns up in the box
Why the comparison works
Calafiori's runs from the left into the penalty area connect with Vertonghen's Tottenham 2012–16 phase, when a centre-back sometimes used at left-back added goals. Vertonghen's two goals at Anfield in March 2013, part of a Player of the Month spell, are an in-phase example. The comparison concerns a defender's threat in the opposition box, not overall defensive standing.
Shared qualities
- Left-sided defender arriving in the box
- Goals from defence
- Centre-back and left-back use
Where it breaks down
Calafiori is currently a left-back who roams into midfield and the box, while Vertonghen's Spurs phase was mainly at centre-back with only occasional left-back use.
A style reference for this phase, not a prediction of Riccardo Calafiori’s ceiling.
Supporting reading
Sky Sports (Sept 2026): Calafiori's underlapping runs into the box and roaming from left-back (opens a new tab)Wikipedia: Calafiori's header winner at Manchester United, 17 Aug 2025, and positional history (opens a new tab)Tottenham Hotspur: Vertonghen's March 2013 Player of the Month, two goals at LiverpoolCareer
4 clubs6 national teams
- ArsenalCurrent
Jan 2024 — Present
- Italy men's national association football team
Jan 2024 — End unknown
- Bologna F.C. 1909
Aug 2023 — Jul 2024
Aug 2022 — Aug 2023
Jan 2022 — Jun 2022
- Italy national under-21 football team
Jan 2021 — End unknown