Reports suggest Manchester City have suffered a blow in their attempt to sign Alessandro Bastoni.
Bastoni, 23, has earned rave reviews for his performances at Inter Milan and the centre-back has already picked up 17 caps for the Italian national team. He progressed through the Atalanta system and spent time on loan with Parma before making his name at the San Siro with 131 appearances in Serie A to date for those clubs.
However, the left-footer has extensively been linked with a move to the Premier League with champions City and Tottenham among those in the queue. Bastoni cost Inter around €30million when he headed there in 2017.
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Reports from Italian publication La Gazzetta Dello Sport underline long-term interest from those two UK sides but, while his current contract with Inter expires 18 months from now, the same article indicates that talks between the player and club have been held over extending that agreement.
It claims Inter are willing to offer him €4.5million-per-year until 2027. Bastoni supports Inter and was understood to have rejected approaches from several clubs across Europe last summer.
Elsewhere, despite having five centre-backs in his squad - Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake - manager Pep Guardiola wants to sign Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol next summer. He was a star performer for his country at the World Cup.
Gvardiol, 20, is highly-rated over Europe and currently plays for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. But while reports from 90min note interest from City, fellow Premier League side Chelsea are thought to be in pole position for his services with Liverpool and Manchester United also in the chase - despite fees over £80million mooted.
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