Manchester City aren’t short of centre-backs with John Stones, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake on the books, but Calciomercato believe they’re on the hunt for another – Alessandro Bastoni.
The 23-year-old joined Inter Milan from Atalanta in 2017 and has gone on to make 117 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals with eight assists.
Bastoni has been a regular under Simone Inzaghi this season, making 43 appearances across the board, so Inter wouldn’t give him up willingly. Calciomercato say the Italian international has a €60m (£50.8m) release clause, so it’s hard to see City making a move.
That’s not to say Bastoni isn’t a talented defender, however. The 23-year-old has made 44 tackles, been dribbled past only once every 133 minutes, made 35 interceptions, had 56 clearances, blocked 12 shots, won 43 aerial duels, completed 89.6% of his passes and created 13 chances.
Bastoni would improve City’s backline, but unless Guardiola offloads one of his existing defenders, why would he bring another one in? His £50.8m valuation is likely to put off the Sky Blues, so it makes sense to stick with Stones, Dias, Laporte and Ake.
In other news, Man City may have to pay £30m for LB with more tackles than Cancelo and Rodri