Barcelona join race for €70m Virgil van Dijk successor | OneFootball

Barcelona to challenge Liverpool for Van Dijk successor

One of the biggest names recently linked with a Merseyside move is Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni, a long-time Liverpool target who could finally make the switch to Anfield soon.

Competition for Bastoni’s signature will be fierce though and transfer insider Matteo Moretto has told Spanish outlet Marca that Barcelona are in the race for the Italian defender.

Moretto claims that Barca view Bastoni as a target for the summer and quotes a fee of between €70-80 million, a considerable discount on the record €95 million that had been previously reported.

The report also states that Inter Milan will try and tie Bastoni down with a new contract, so any deal won’t be easy for Liverpool or Barca.

Will Liverpool beat Barcelona to Bastoni’s signature?

Barcelona’s financial struggles have been well documented over the last few years, and this could give the Reds an upper hand in negotiations for Bastoni.

Liverpool showed they are able to spend big last summer, breaking the British transfer record twice in one window, and seeing as signing another centre-half will likely be the top priority next summer they would feel confident in outbidding Barcelona.

If Slot’s side can finish the season well, they will be in a strong position to convince Bastoni to make the switch to England.