Tottenham Hotspur are said to be in a pole position to sign Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni.
Tottenham’s interest in Bastoni is nothing new; in the summer, Football London reported that he was one of Antonio Conte’s top targets. However, a deal never materialised, and players like Clement Lenglet and Cristian Romero were signed in their place.
And given Tottenham’s concerns at the back, Conte will be looking to add a top-class centre-back to the squad.
However, Fabrizio Romano recently stated on his exclusive column for CaughtOffside that Inter would not be willing to sell the Italian for less than £52 million, implying that Daniel Levy will have to spend a similar amount as he did on Romero.
And according to the latest update from CalcioMercato, Conte is now in the ‘prime’ position to land the defender ahead of Manchester City with the report claiming that Pep Guardiola has also enquired about the player.
The report also states that Conte had previously approached the defender about a move to Spurs, but he preferred to stay at the San Siro.
This was also confirmed by the player who admitted that Spurs wanted him in the summer and had ‘made some contact’ with him but he was ‘happy’ to stay at Inter. He told Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness):
“There was some contact, but I’m happy I stayed at Inter.”
When asked how working for Antonio Conte was different from working for other managers like Inzaghi and Mancini, he also praised Conte, saying:
“With Conte, we entered the pitch knowing perfectly what we needed to do, because everything was studied in a maniacal manner.”
Bastoni would be an outstanding signing by Spurs. They will be signing one of the best center-backs in Serie A. Not only has he previously played under Conte and knows him well, he is also accustomed to playing in a back three, which Simone Inzaghi has used in all 21 of his games this season.
