Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Tottenham tipped to sign Alessandro Bastoni for bargain £13m, if first-team star thrown in as makeweight

Inter Milan centre-back Alessandro Bastoni

Tottenham are being tipped to rekindle their interest in Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni, who they can sign for a bargain fee if they offer a first-team star in exchange.

Sporting director Fabio Paratici tried to work on a deal for the Italy international over the summer but was knocked back, as the Serie A outfit made it clear they did not want to offload the likes of Bastoni and his teammate Milan Skriniar.

However, that has not stopped Spurs’ interest, with Antonio Conte keen on getting at least one new centre-back through the door this month.

Both Bastoni and Skriniar worked under Conte at Inter, and while the latter’s contract status appears to make him an easier catch, it appears that Tottenham would still prefer a deal for Bastoni first.

The left side of Conte’s back three has been a particular issue this season, with Ben Davies and on-loan Frenchman Clement Lenglet sharing the role without a huge amount of success.

So the fact that Calciomercato has a fresh take on Bastoni’s current situation is good news for Tottenham.

They report that the north London club may have found the perfect way to reduce the asking price for Bastoni, by offering out-of-favour right-back Emerson Royal in exchange.

Emerson moved to Spurs from Barcelona in the summer of 2021. And despite being a regular starter, up until recently, he has never convinced that he has the qualities to cope with English top-flight football.

The Brazilian lost his place to Matt Doherty when domestic resumed after the World Cup. However, he is still used regularly from the bench ahead of summer Djed Spence.

Porro and Bastoni a perfect window for Spurs

But with Conte not getting enough quality from his right wing-back, Tottenham continue to try and strike a deal for Sporting Lisbon’s Pedro Porro.

A deal for the Spaniard is said to have been ‘agreed in principle’. However, Sporting are maintaining their stance that Porro’s £40million release clause is met.

In turn, that scenario is keeping the move on hold for now, but if Spurs let Emerson leave then it also opens the door to the Porro signing.

As for Bastoni, he is currently valued at £48million, which means the report claims Spurs can offload Emerson for £35m – which appears highly unlikely for a player who has struggled for much of the season.

In all honesty, if Daniel Levy can get back the £25.8m he paid out for Emerson in the first place then he’s probably worked a miracle.

Much also depends on Inter’s stance on Manchester United right-back target Denzel Dumfries.

If the Dutchman is offloaded to Old Trafford then it could set off a chain reaction of transfers, involving Emerson to Inter and Bastoni and Porro to Tottenham.

Landing two players of that quality in the winter window would be a massive coup for Conte and Spurs. However, at this stage, there may be a few too many things that need to fall into place for that to happen.

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