Liverpool are reportedly one of three European giants interested in Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni.
That’s according to Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, who claim Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also keen on the centre-half.
The report goes on to state all three clubs are willing to cough up over €50 million to sign the 21-year-old this summer.
Bastoni is a good player with a very high potential ceiling, but the talked-up transfer fee seems a little overblown.
To be honest, we at Empire of the Kop aren’t convinced by this report – but, as ever, it’s worth mentioning as Gazzetta are typically a reliable source for news.
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Bastoni is valued at £45 million (€52.5 million) by Transfermarkt, which is in line with the reported amount Liverpool, Bayern and Barcelona are said to be willing to pay.
Going into this summer, the Reds are indeed likely to strengthen their defensive options, with a plethora of targets already being named.
Sven Botman, Duje Caleta-Car, Ibrahima Konate and Ben White are four players who are continually linked with Liverpool, but it’s still unclear how serious interest is in any of them.
Jurgen Klopp brought in Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies over the winter, but with the former signed on a short-term loan deal and the latter yet to make his debut their futures are also uncertain.