Tottenham Hotspur are confident they can match the financial demands to land Alessandro Bastoni this summer.
However, Spurs journalist Alasdair Gold believes there could be a big issue in landing the Italian centre-back, with Bastoni questioning whether it is the right time to leave Serie A.
Bastoni is a product of the Atalanta youth system, and having also had a stint at Parma, the Inter defender is yet to experience club football outside of Italy at a domestic level.
It is reported Inter would demand no less than £51m for the services of the centre-back, who is believed to currently be earning north of £120k per week.
Gold spoke on his YouTube channel to discuss Tottenham’s attempts to land the 23-year-old, with the north London club thought to be trying to get a deal sorted.
He said: “Obviously, we know Alessandro Bastoni is the top centre-back target and Tottenham are trying to get that done. It’s at an interesting place right now. I think Tottenham believe that they’ll be able to sort out wages and a fee and things like that. I don’t think they really see that as an issue.”
TIF Thoughts on Gold’s comments…
Considering raising enough funds to seal the transfer seems doable, persuading Bastoni to make the move is presumably the real problem for Spurs in their hopes to land the Italian this summer, with the centre-back only 23 years old and a prominent feature in the Inter side.
Do you expect Bastoni to sign this summer?
Yes
No
However, there is also a lot going in Tottenham’s favour that could prove critical in persuading him to leave, with it believed he would like to reunite with Antonio Conte at some point.
And if Spurs are willing to match the financial demands, then a deal seems as if it could be wrapped up fairly quickly if they are able to talk Bastoni into the idea of a move.