Tottenham target Alessandro Bastoni is in London, but not for reasons concerning a potential move to Spurs.
football.london understand that Inter won't accept anything less than £51million for the centre-half. Bastoni would be a statement signing from Tottenham as they look to head into a new and successful era under Conte.
Bastoni wrote a message on Instagram yesterday which had the caption: 'Flying to London'. Naturally, Tottenham fans were going to be interested in such a statement, but it's not worth getting overly excited about at the moment.
Italy are playing Argentina on Wednesday evening at Wembley Stadium, and Bastoni has been included in Roberto Mancini's squad, which is why he's made the trip to England's capital. It's not transfer-related as things stand, but of course, there's no telling just yet whether he'll get on another flight for that reason in the future.
READ MORE: Inter 'agree terms' with Alessandro Bastoni replacement to clear path for Tottenham transfer
The player's stance on the matter of moving to Spurs is also clear. Answering a question on whether Bastoni is reluctant to leave Inter in a recent Q&A, football.London's chief Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold said: "There are two sides to this one in that Bastoni is understood to be keen to play under Antonio Conte again at some point, but he is happy at the moment at Inter Milan, and it's worth remembering that he only just turned 23 last month, so he's young in terms of his career and uprooting from Italy. For someone like [Cristian] Romero, he had already uprooted from his homeland.
"Spurs' hope is that Bastoni can bring added quality to the left side of Tottenham's back three to complement Romero's strength and quality on the other side. They see him as a potential heir to Jan Vertonghen with a similar skillful style to the Belgian in being a ball-playing defender rather than an aggressive one like Romero. That could potentially make his adaptation to the physical nature of the Premier League slightly more gradual than the Argentine's, and perhaps that is a concern the player also holds.
Gold added: "The key to whether Tottenham can get this deal done may come down to how much Inter needs the money and whether they help push Bastoni towards the door, particularly as he has only two years left on his contract. The Serie A club want to sign players this summer, not least Gleison Bremer from Torino for around £21m, and if they decide that selling Bastoni for more than £51m can fund more deals, then they may help influence his decision. Things change quickly in the transfer window.
"It's a long summer, and if Bastoni does dig his heels in and decides it's not the right moment for a move, then Spurs will turn to their other targets. I reported the other day that Tottenham really likes Josko Gvardiol, although there will be competition for his signature, and there are suggestions he would like to stay at RB Leipzig for another season. Signing the best players isn't easy, but Paratici and Conte will have their lists of targets."
Bastoni would be a statement signing from Tottenham as they look to head into a new and successful era under Conte. Whether they can get a deal over the line remains to be seen, but early signs are encouraging to say the least.
