Tottenham get transfer lift as Alessandro Bastoni ‘hits contract snag’

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reviews the Tottenham defeat

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Tottenham have been given renewed belief that they could successfully swoop for Alessandro Bastoni during the summer, with the Inter Milan ace’s contract demands yet to be approved by the Serie A giants. Antonio Conte is known to be a big fan of the defender, who could slot in as the perfect partner for Cristian Romero at the back. 

Bastoni, 23, has almost played 200 matches in senior football for club and country – a vast amount of experience for a young centre-back. He has been a regular in Serie A since his teens, with his performances at club level earning him 17 caps for the Italian national team. 

The player himself confirmed that transfer contact had been made by Spurs last year, before adding that he was happy at the San Siro. Fresh reports emerged during the January transfer window, tipping the north London club to sign Bastoni in a player-plus-cash deal involving Emerson Royal. 

The transfer never emerged and Bastoni remains with Inter, although his contract is due to expire at the end of next season. That puts the Nerazzurri in a precarious position, whereby they must realistically agree a new deal before the end of the current campaign, cash in while they can in the summer or risk losing him for free in 2024. 

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Talks are reportedly underway between Inter and Bastoni’s camp as they try to reach an agreement over a new long-term contract. However, Gazzetta dello Sport claim that the player is keen to almost double his wages to just under £5million per year. 

That has created a deadlock for the time being, with Inter eager to save some cash by submitting their top-end offer at £4m per year. Refusal to agree to Bastoni’s terms could send out a worrying message to the young defender, who wants to be on similar payment terms to the likes of Lautaro Martinez and Nicolo Barella. 

Bastoni enjoys the coveted status of being a left-footed centre-back, which would see him slot in perfectly alongside Romero and Eric Dier in Conte’s back-three. Ben Davies has acquitted himself well on the left side of the trio, although there is a general feeling that Bastoni would be an upgrade on the 29-year-old Welshman. 

The Inter star has also shown impressive consistency over the past few seasons, playing 109 club matches since the start of 2020/21. Splashing out on Bastoni would surely make him one of the club’s major summer signings after a frugal January window, which saw them sign Arnaut Danjuma and Pedro Porro on loan. 

Qualifying for next season’s Champions League would make life easier for Tottenham sporting director Fabio Paratici when it comes to attracting top targets, and they made a statement in pursuit of the top four by scraping a 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday. 

Harry Kane stole the headlines by becoming Spurs’ all-time top scorer with 267 goals, but Emerson Royal was singled out by stand-in boss Cristian Stellini for his gutsy display to contain Pep Guardiola’s title-chasing side. 

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