Liverpool get green light for £60m centre-back deal

Liverpool have received the clearest indication yet that Inter Milan will sanction the sale of Alessandro Bastoni if their €70 million (£60 million) valuation is met, placing the Premier League club in pole position to secure one of Europe’s most accomplished progressive centre-backs.

Spanish outlet Sport reports that Inter’s hierarchy, long adamant the Italy international was not for sale, have now set an explicit asking price and signalled a willingness to negotiate offers starting at the £60 million mark. The shift in stance is described internally as a financial strategy rather than a footballing one, with the Nerazzurri prepared to cash in on an asset they value extremely highly should a bidder meet their premium fee.

Barcelona retain a strong interest and Bastoni is understood to favour a future at Camp Nou, but the Liga giants’ delicate balance-sheet means any pursuit would require intricate financial engineering, possibly including player exchanges. Liverpool, by contrast, are positioned to pay cash up front, a factor that could tip negotiations toward Merseyside.

Inter’s willingness to deal was underlined by the same report, which notes: “Inter are open to selling him and have already put an asking price on the table… the Italian club is willing to negotiate offers starting at €70 million (£60 million) for Bastoni, a very high figure that could scare off interested clubs.”

Bastoni, 25, operates on the left of Simone Inzaghi’s back three, stepping into midfield to orchestrate play with a cultured left foot and an eye for line-breaking passes. His anticipation, aerial strength and link-up with wing-backs have rendered him integral to Inter’s domestic and European campaigns, as well as to the Italian national team. Despite signing a contract extension in 2023 that runs until June 2028, the defender is now the subject of concrete transfer talks for the first time since that renewal.

While Inter remain keen to extend his deal even further, potentially to 2030, the club’s financial planners have indicated that a record fee would be considered, particularly if Barcelona cannot restructure their finances in time and Liverpool table an unconditional offer matching the £60 million benchmark.

Sources close to the negotiations suggest that, unless Barcelona accelerate their economic adjustments, Liverpool’s financial muscle could see the deal taken out of the Catalans’ hands. For Inter, the prospect of a lump-sum payment from Anfield is viewed as more straightforward than any part-exchange package Barcelona might propose.

For now, Bastoni continues to be deployed as a pillar of Inter’s project, with the club’s longer-term expectation that he will remain in Milan until at least 2026. Yet the setting of a firm price tag marks a significant departure from previous statements that the player was untouchable, and Liverpool are primed to test that resolve.