Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly taken a hit in their bid to sign a defender this summer, as Inter Milan centre-back Alessandro Bastoni appears reluctant to leave the Italian giants. Antonio Conte has already looked to his former club Inter once this summer, as Croatian international Ivan Perisic is close to joining his ex-boss in London.
However in a bid to bolster his defence at Tottenham, Conte has suffered a blow as Bastoni, who Spurs were once in pole position to sign, now looks unlikely to leave Inter.
London Evening Standard reporter Dan Kilpatrick tweeted: “As it stands, Bastoni reluctant to leave Inter. Deal not dead in the water but Spurs will have to convince him.”
Tottenham have reportedly been eyeing a deal upwards of £50million for the 23-year-old, who made 41 Serie A appearances under Conte in 2020/21 when the duo won the Scudetto together at Inter. He has remained a regular under Simone Inzaghi, has been capped 11 times by Italy since making his debut for Roberto Mancini’s side in 2020 and was part of his Euro 2020 winning squad.
Kilpatrick did however provide a more positive update on Spurs’ move for Perisic. He added: “Perisic stayed overnight at Spurs and is expected to complete a medical & sign a two-year deal today worth around £100k-a-week.”
Perisic, who reached the World Cup final with Croatia in 2018, could line up at wing-back next season under Conte after scoring eight goals and recording seven assists in 35 Serie A games last season. He has been capped 113 times for his country and has been at Inter since 2015, where he won the Scudetto under Conte in the 2020-2021 season. He has a wealth of experience having also lifted the Champions League in 2020 on loan at Bayern Munich.
After Spurs announced a capital increase of up to £150million from majority shareholder ENIC, Conte was reportedly promised six new signings and Express Sport has looked at five players Tottenham could land this summer after the signing of Perisic is confirmed.
They are also close to signing Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster on a free transfer as a backup to club captain Hugo Lloris, as the club rejected the chance to sign Pierluigi Gollini on a permanent basis.
With a deal for Bastoni now looking less likely, Spurs will be eyeing defenders previously linked with a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium such as Villareal’s Pau Torres, Nottingham Forest’s Djed Spence and Torino’s Gleison Bremer.
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