The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke has claimed that Tottenham’s pursuit of Inter Milan centre-back Alessandro Bastoni may not be over despite his agent’s comments.
Bastoni’s agent Tullio Tinti revealed this week following his meeting with the Inter hierarchy that his client will not leave the San Siro this summer (Football Italia).
However, Pitt-Brooke has said that there is an ‘alternative reading’ of the situation and that the centre-back would be able to point at his agent’s comments as evidence he did not force his way out of the club.
The journalist claims there is still plenty of time left in the window for Inter to change their stance.
He points to Romelu Lukaku’s assertion last summer that he would be staying at Inter before the Serie A club accepted Chelsea’s £97.5m offer, and suggests that history could repeat itself.
Pitt-Brooke explains that the €60m (£51m) the Nerazzurri stand to gain from Bastoni’s sale could prove to be too much to ignore, given their financial situation.
He adds that while Simone Inzaghi’s side could sell Milan Skriniar instead, they would not get as big a fee for the Slovak as they would for the 23-year-old.
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Tullio Tinti’s statement might be a political manoeuvre intended to ease the pressure on Inter’s owners, given that the Inter fans were reportedly protesting at the idea of Bastoni being sold (Corriere dello Sport). So, perhaps the club’s hierarchy want to appease the fan base and potentially announce Bastoni’s sale after they have made a couple of signings.
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