Fans of Manchester City have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relays reports that Pep Guardiola is planning a summer move for Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni this summer.
Bastoni, who arrived at Inter for Atalanta in 2017, has made 14 Serie A appearances for the Italian giants so far this season, scoring one goal.
The 20-year-old, who is valued at £31.5 million, has averaged an impressive WhoScored match rating of 6.87 throughout Inter’s league campaign, leading to reported January bids for the centre-back from Manchester City and Barcelona, which were rejected by Antonio Conte’s side.
However, according to recent reports by Italian sports paper Tuttosport, Pep Guardiola’s interest in Bastoni has remained, with the Italian U21 international’s ability to play the ball out of defence being a particular trait that Guardiola admires in defenders.
Tuttosport also claims that Manchester City would be keen on another of Inter’s defenders, Milan Skriniar, with the Daily Express reporting that Guardiola is prepared to spend £80 million on the Slovakian centre-back.
However, when news of Manchester City’s interest in the two players was relayed by Man City Xtra on Twitter, fans were quick to voice their opinions on the matter, with many claiming that they would much rather see Bastoni join the club than Skriniar.
Pep Guardiola has his eyes on two Inter Milan central defenders ahead of the summer transfer window.
City are keen on Milan Skriniar and are willing to pay as much as €90 million for him. There is also interest in Alessandro Bastoni (20).
[@tuttosport via @SempreIntercom] pic.twitter.com/YbIJ2T2fgJ
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) March 11, 2020
Get Bastoni or Unai Nunez of Bilbao.
— Giuseppe (@YungHusband_) March 11, 2020
Get Bastoni forget about skrinar
— Naftali_koech (@Naftalikoech10) March 11, 2020
Bastoni better and get him less than 35 million
— Abdullah (@Zabdul2004) March 11, 2020
Bastoni please. 90m for skriniar? Hm….
— Mohad (@mohamedamiin2) March 11, 2020
Get Angelino back, sell Sane, and sign a very good defender to help Laporte
— jackson Barry (@BleuBarry96) March 11, 2020
Get them both
— Chang Shinjin Gh (@AturuGambo) March 11, 2020
What do we think?
With Manchester City’s issues in central defence this season, such as the injuries of Aymeric Laporte and John Stones, as well as City’s failure to bring in a replacement for Vincent Kompany, the position is likely to be a priority for Pep Guardiola to strengthen this summer, with one, or even both, of Skriniar and Bastoni appearing to be the Spanish manager’s preferred targets.