Under Mourinho, Real Madrid are competing with Barcelona for the Bastogne deal

Real Madrid have entered a fierce battle with arch-rivals Barcelona to sign Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni, the latest candidate to strengthen the Real Madrid’s defense in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The Italian newspaper “Gazzetta dello Sport” has confirmed that “Real Madrid” has appeared as a surprise candidate for the inclusion of Alessandro Bastoni, especially since the next coach of the team, Jose Mourinho, is a fan of the “Inter Milan” defender. This is when Barcelona’s interest in the player seems to have started to decrease.

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The newspaper explains that Inter Milan’s management values ​​Bastoni at no less than €70m, a figure that is well within the reach of Real Madrid, especially as the Spanish giants face a major defensive rebuilding process this summer with David Alaba, Dani Carvajal and Antonio Rudiger all leaving on a free.

Real Madrid have made the addition of an experienced international centre-back a top priority for manager Jose Mourinho as he begins to rebuild his squad at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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Barcelona previously appeared to be the closest side to finalizing a deal, especially as Bastoni had previously expressed his willingness to move to Spain and personal terms had already been discussed with his representatives.

However, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick expressed reservations about the player’s case, as he preferred a centre-back with different technical characteristics, and these doubts led the Catalan club to explore alternative targets, opening the door to an intervention from Real Madrid.

Bastoni himself, on the other hand, wants to stay at Inter Milan as he is a mainstay in coach Cristian Chivo’s side that won the domestic double this season.