Tottenham surprisingly back away from defender deal due to Conte uncertainty, opening door for top six rival

Tottenham Hotspur have actually shelved plans to bid for Inter Milan centre-back Alessandro Bastoni despite rumours to the contrary, according to a report.

Bastoni is one of the most promising defenders in Europe, having established himself already with Inter. Still only 23 years old, he already has one Serie A medal in his collection. A bright future is predicted for someone who has 17 caps for Italy to his name up to this point.

Inter only have Bastoni under contract until 2024, which has led to some rumours that other teams could bid for him. One of the prime contenders for his signature has been thought to be Tottenham.

Antonio Conte previously nurtured Bastoni’s talents at Inter, so they could reunite in north London. The former Atalanta youth product would be a perfect fit on the left-hand side of the Spurs back three.

Tottenham’s attempts to sign him last summer were rejected, but there has been a feeling they could make another attempt. That said, Inter have been prepared to stand firm and do their best to keep Bastoni.

Now, though, there has been a surprising twist in terms of Tottenham’s interest. According to FC Inter News, Spurs are not currently thinking about a move for Bastoni.

In fact, because it is currently unclear as to whether Conte will be staying in charge of Tottenham, the idea of reuniting him with Bastoni has been put on hold.

Man City join race for Bastoni

In the meantime, another contender could come in for the Italian star. The report has named Premier League champions Manchester City as a more likely bidder for Bastoni.

Pep Guardiola’s side already invested in their defence over the summer with the addition of Manuel Akanji. He added to the existing options of Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and John Stones.

But Manchester City have also put Bastoni on their shortlist for the future. With that in mind, Inter may still have to brace themselves.

Regardless, Bastoni still hopes to continue playing for Inter, who will have to explore a contract renewal with him.

In terms of a salary, he wants to earn more than €4million per season (which would be above £66,000 per week). In fact, he would be willing to accept a lower offer than Tottenham or Man City could have given him.

Talks should commence in the new year, by which point any hopes Tottenham or City might have had of signing him might have to be put on hold for even longer.

Spurs should have retained Bastoni interest

The ship might have sailed then for Spurs. It would be a shame for them to miss out on a talent like Bastoni simply because of an uncertainty about Conte.

Although the former Inter coach’s knowledge of him would be a bonus, Bastoni is good enough to thrive under any coach.

Therefore, Tottenham might have been better off keeping up their pursuit of the centre-back. Even so, the fact that clubs like Manchester City have also been in the race shows how difficult it might have been to convince him to join anyway.

Still, he is someone worthy of a place on any elite club’s shortlist. Tottenham are still trying to reach the next level and someone like Bastoni would have helped.

Alas, they might just simply not be able to acquire him.

READ MORE: Tottenham man tipped to sign for Premier League rivals amid ‘rubbish’ season under Antonio Conte