Alessandro Bastoni Nears Barcelona Switch as Inter Line Up Tarik Muharemovic

Milan—Inter Milan’s grip on Alessandro Bastoni is loosening. After months of speculation surrounding the 26-year-old centre-back’s future, the Nerazzurri have provisionally secured Sassuolo’s 23-year-old Bosnian stopper Tarik Muharemovic as his successor, a move that edges the Italian international closer to a €70 million transfer to Barcelona, sources close to Tuttosport confirmed on Tuesday.

Bastoni, who arrived at Inter for €31 million in 2017 and blossomed into a pillar of the club’s three-man defence, has reportedly already struck a personal agreement with the Catalan giants. Coach Hansi Flick views the left-footed defender as the ideal organiser for his high-line system, and Barcelona’s hierarchy have green-lit a fee that eclipses earlier estimates of €50 million.

Inter, reluctant to lose a home-grown cornerstone, have spent the spring compiling contingency plans. While negotiations for Muharemovic have advanced the furthest, sporting-director shortlists still contain four additional targets: Udinese’s Oumar Solet (26), Club Brugge’s Joel Ordóñez (21), Lazio’s Mario Gila (25) and Liverpool teenager Giovanni Leoni (19). None of those deals, however, have progressed beyond the inquiry stage.

La Gazzetta dello Sport adds that both club and player have agreed to freeze formal talks until Inter clinch the 2025-26 Serie A title mathematically. Once the scudetto is secured, Bastoni is expected to accelerate his push for the exit door, paving the way for what would rank among the largest defensive sales in Inter’s modern history.

Barcelona’s urgency is fuelled by more than mere ambition. With Champions League positions on the line and defensive injuries mounting, the Blaugrana have simultaneously explored back-up solutions. Diario AS reports that 19-year-old Croatian prospect Luka Vušković—currently on loan at Hamburg from Tottenham—has emerged as a viable alternative should Inter raise last-minute hurdles. Vušković, who has no intention of reporting to Spurs, is said to welcome a Camp Nou switch, potentially giving Flick two routes to reinforce his back line before the summer window opens.

For now, all roads point to Bastoni. If Inter wrap up the league and Muharemovic’s paperwork is finalised, the Italian defender could be boarding a flight to Catalonia for a medical within weeks, turning a long-running saga into one of Europe’s first blockbuster moves ahead of next season.

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