Tottenham have identified Pau Torres and Gleison Bremer as Bastoni alternatives.
Antonio Conte is sought to bring in a new centre-back this summer despite Ben Davies faultless display, forming a formidable defense with Eric Dier and Cristian Romero, which drives the Lilywhites back to the top European flight football since 2019/20 season.
Before the end of the season, Tottenham top two targets to fill in the shoe were either Alessandro Bastoni of Inter Milan or Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig, as reported by The Athletic.
However, Tottenham efforts to sign Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan this season has seemed to hit the dagger after his agent Tinti, confirmed his client will be staying beyond this season at San Siro.
Bastoni is definitely staying at Inter,” Tinti said. “He’s an Inter player. He’s happy to play for Inter.”
Alessandro Bastoni’s agent Tinti: “Bastoni will stay at Inter for sure. He has a contract and he’s happy with Inter – there’s no problem”. 🚨⚪️ #Inter #THFC
Inter board are now meeting with Paulo Dybala’s agent, Jorge Antún. pic.twitter.com/OvFMoyfsDS
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 8, 2022
Bastoni — for people who care to analyse these things — appeared to endorse the message by posting blue and black heart emojis on Instagram soon after.
The news comes as delight for Inter Milan fans but a dagger for Paratici, and Antonio Conte who holds the 23-year old on high esteem.
Gvardiol transfer on the other hand, looks difficult than Bastoni’s deal if not impossible, as Tottenham need as much as €80 million — to sign him.
“If Tottenham were to get him, I think it would be comfortably the biggest fee Tottenham have ever paid. Tottenham paid £55m for Tanguy Ndombele in 2019.”- The Athletic.
Valued at around £68million, Gvardiol is especially coveted as he fits in the criteria Conte is looking for- left-footed.
However, Leipzig are in a strong position regarding the 20-year old who only arrived from Dinamo Zagreb last summer, and still under contract until the summer of 2026.
But there is an alternative reading of the situation. We are still only in early June and there is still plenty of time left in the window for the situation to change.
But, neither will Paratici nor Antonio sit down and fold hands, as the boss wanted all his transfer done early before the pre-season starts.
As a result, Tottenham have turned attention to Pau Torres of Villarreal and Gleison Bremer of Torino.
Tottenham have identified Pau Torres and Gleison Bremer as Bastoni alternatives.
Villarreal’s Pau Torres and Torino’s Gleison Bremer are among the players Spurs hold interest in, as Antonio Conte looks to strengthen his backline once more following the success of Cristian Romero’s arrival last summer, Evening Standard understands.
Tottenham and Pau Torres links are not strange, as he was Spurs top target last summer before he eventually turned them down.
Pau Torres about Tottenham proposal: “The pull of playing the Champions League with the team from my town was bigger. The president didn’t put pressure on me, even though they could make a lot of money. I appreciated it”, he told @sidlowe on @guardian_sport. 🟡 #Villarreal #THFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 23, 2021
But now with a better project, Champions League football, and a better manager, Tottenham are ready to test Pau’s water once more. And this time, might see Tottenham as an attractive situation, even Harry Kane that was ready to leave last year is keen to commit his future to Tottenham now.
United have also been linked with Spain defender Torres, who helped his boyhood club to Europa League glory in 2020-21 and to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.
But, given Tottenham’s relationship with Villarreal, and with suggestions that Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who has been on loan at Villarreal since January, could be used as a makeweight in any deal.
Tottenham are reportedly working on a part-exchange deal with Villarreal involving Pau Torres and Giovani Lo Celso. (Image: Getty Images)
It makes the situation so easy to Spurs, and a win-win for both sides as Villarreal also keen to sign Lo celso on a permanent basis.
Also, Bremer – Inter Milan bound to replace Bastoni – is also another man being eyed by the Lilywhites as Antonio Conte keen to bring in a new centre-back this summer.
With Spurs being forced to switch target to Bremer after missing out on Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni, that failure gives them free run to sign Gleison Bremer, who’s being voted Serie A’s best defender in the league’s end-of-season awards.
Only time will tell what decisions will be made, but it’s high worthy to note that we are still only in early June and there is still plenty of time left in the window for the situation to change.
(Remember last summer, for example, when there was lengthy speculation about Romelu Lukaku’s future; Lukaku insisted he did not want to leave, but it still ended with him joining Chelsea for €115 million or £97.5 million.
The possibility of a similar scenario or more this summer should not be ruled out. And anyone out of the names mentioned above would really prove to be a great addition to Conte’s squad.
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