Barcelona receive positive news on pursuit of Inter defender | OneFootball

Barcelona seem to be intent on bringing in a central defender and a centre-forward this summer if their finances permit them doing so. This week has been a positive one in terms of their pursuit of a defensive addition though.

The name chosen by Director of Football Deco appears to be Alessandro Bastoni. If a deal can be done, then Bastoni is the preferred choice. It looked earlier this year as if Bastoni would be signing a new contract with Inter, but increasingly it looks as if the Nerazzurri are open to selling Bastoni for the right price.

Inter begin hunt for Bastoni replacement

After it emerged earlier in the week that Barcelona had opened talks with Bastoni’s representatives over contract details, the Catalan giants have been given further positive updates from Italy. As per GdS (via Football Italia), Inter are already looking at possible replacements for Bastoni this summer, as they prepare for a potential sale.

Lazio man Mario Gila, for whom Real Madrid have a 50% sell-on clause, is their priority, but Joel Ordonez (Club Brugge), Oumar Solet (Udinese) and Tarik Muharemovic (Sassuolo) represent cheaper alternatives.

Price may be a sticking point

In recent weeks it has been suggested that Bastoni could be allowed to leave for a price tag around €50-60m, which would make him look much more affordable for Barcelona. Yet GdS have now backed up Fabrizio Romano’s assertion that Inter will require €70-80m to shake hands on the deal.

Barcelona willing to exchange players?

The possibility of Barcelona using makeweights in different deals has also been raised recently, given they may struggle to do all of the deals they want to within their salary limit regulations. Ferran Torres has been cited as a potential part of a deal for both Julian Alvarez and Bastoni, while Dani Olmo is reportedly of interest to Inter too.