Ten Hag and Man Utd now plotting to hijack Tottenham move for 'perfect' player; Spurs are scared

Manchester United have enquired about Inter Milan defender and Tottenham Hotspur target Alessandro Bastoni, according to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness). 

Inter paid just under £28million to sign Bastoni from Atalanta in the summer of 2017.

Now 23, he’s gone on to make 118 appearances for the club, including 44 in all competitions last season.

Bastoni, dubbed ‘perfect’ and a ‘talisman’ by talent scout Jacek Kulig, was part of the Italy squad that won last summer’s European Championships, playing their final group stage game against Wales, and he’s notched 14 caps for his country overall.

Tottenham Hotspur, who beat United to the final Champions League spot, are also in for him, hoping to reunite him with former Inter boss Antonio Conte.

The report states that United have been ‘asking for information’ about Bastoni with a view to a potential move.

Erik ten Hag is concerned by Raphael Varane’s fitness record and believes Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof ‘are not reliable’.

The Red Devils have been told that ‘it takes €60m’ (about £51.2million) to sign Bastoni, a price tag that ‘scares Conte’s Tottenham’.

Still, it may be regarded as a fee worth paying, with the report adding that the player is ‘the prototype of the modern defender’.

This will be a difficult deal for United, or indeed Spurs, to pull off.

Bastoni’s agent has recently said publicly that his client will be staying in Milan this summer.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean a transfer should be ruled out completely, with The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke and James Horncastle insisting ‘there is still plenty of time left in the window for the situation to change‘.

It’s easy to see why Ten Hag wants Bastoni, who featured in the Serie A