Real Madrid are reportedly interested in making a move for Inter Milan and Italy defender Alessandro Bastoni at the request of manager Carlo Ancelotti.
According to a report from Spanish publication Fichajes, Real Madrid have set their sights on 22-year-old Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni as manager Carlo Ancelotti seeks reinforcements to his backline.
A product of the Atalanta youth academy, Bastoni signed for Inter Milan in 2017, before returning to La Dea on loan for the season. He then spent the 2018/19 campaign on a temporary spell with Parma before returning to Inter and making a breakthrough in the first-team during the next season.
Ever since, he has grown into a key player for the Nerazzurri, establishing himself as one of the most promising young centre-backs across Europe alongside the likes of Jules Kounde and Matthijs de Ligt. To date, Bastoni has featured 80 times for Inter Milan scoring two goals and setting up five more, while he has seven caps for the Italy national team.
Bastoni’s rise to prominence with the club and country has led to a lot of admirers, with Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti seemingly one among them if the aforementioned report is to be believed.
Real Madrid lost two of the strongest pillars of their recent success this past summer when Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos both departed the club for Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively.
And while David Alaba has been brought in from Bayern Munich on a free transfer, there is room for another quality centre-back, especially seeing as Ancelotti does not seem to trust Jesus Vallejo while Nacho has been largely used out wide in the full-back slots.
A move for Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger, to that end, has been mooted strongly. But with intense competition for the German international, it seems like Real Madrid want to keep their options open. Bastoni has now emerged as an alternative, with Ancelotti personally recommending him to the club.
However, signing the 22-year-old will be anything but straightforward as he has a contract with Inter Milan till 2024. And, the Nerazzurri have no intentions of selling their prized asset. It now remains to be seen if Real Madrid do make an approach for him or look at other options.
