Arsenal recently made a move to try and sign Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan but received a blank refusal from both the club and the player.
The young defender has emerged as one of the hottest talents in Europe this season having worked his way into Antonio Conte’s Inter side.
Naturally, his performances, which have belied his young age and relative lack of experience, have garnered attention from around Europe, with several big sides, such as Manchester City, being linked.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been among the names mentioned in the past, with the belief being the Spanish manager had identified the young Italian as the perfect man to partner Aymeric Laporte in the heart of his defence.
Inter have no intention of selling one of their prized assets, though, and that recently saw them turn down an approach from Arsenal.
FC Inter News explain the Gunners ‘recently tried to knock’ for the young defender, having already come forward with an offer for teammate Nicolò Barella.
Their interest in Bastoni is well established, as is Manchester City’s, with Guardiola’s side having watching him live on two occasions in the winter.
Arsenal’s attempts to sign the defender and Barella were stonewalled, though, as they received ‘no opening’ from either the club or the players’ entourage.
Inter consider Bastoni as unsellable and are now readying a new five-year deal that will see him increase his wages to €1.5m a year with the potential for more via bonuses.
They already discussed this with his agent Tullio Tinti in January, and the deal will be ‘ratified’ in the coming weeks, meaning Arsenal and Manchester City will both have to turn their attention elsewhere in their hunt for reinforcements this summer.
