“Man City asked” – Agent reveals approach from Premier League champions for Italy international alongside Real Madrid | OneFootball

Manchester City made an approach alongside Real Madrid for Italy international centre-back Alessandro Bastoni, according to the player’s agent.

Officials at the Etihad Stadium have been almost perfect when it comes to their recruitment plans and approach to signings in the central defensive positions throughout the course of Pep Guardiola’s tenure so far.

Despite spending a significant sum of money on central defenders over the course of his eight years at the club so far, many of such players have gone on to be hugely successful and play a pivotal role in Manchester City’s success.

Among the players to have been close to faultless in their performances include Ruben Dias after his signing from SL Benfica in 2020, John Stones following his switch from Everton in 2016, and Josko Gvardiol – who is the most recent acquisition, joining from RB Leipzig in 2023.

But new comments have revealed attempts made by Manchester City to sign one of Italy’s finest emerging central defenders, in the latest stellar defensive talent to develop out of country with a glistening legacy in the position.

Speaking to Sky in Italy this week, as translated and relayed by Fabrizio Romano on X, the agent of Inter central defender Alessandro Bastoni has been keen to illustrate the demand in his client from across the European game.

“Man City asked for (Alessandro) Bastoni years ago, recently Real Madrid did the same,” agent Tullio Tinti told Sky Italia. He continued, “Inter want to win and they’re not gonna sell their top players like Bastoni.”

The 25-year-old is a product of Atalanta’s highly-rated youth system, joining Inter for a reported €31 million transfer fee in August 2017, but rejoining his boyhood club simultaneously for a further two seasons.

However, such was the talent being showcased by Bastoni that Inter opted to officially recall Alessandro Bastoni early from his loan with Atalanta and renew his contract until the summer of 2023 on 14 July 2018, before repositioning the player on loan at Parma.

Since breaking into Inter’s first-team starting line-up on a consistent basis, Bastoni has won a plethora of top-level domestic honours, and featured in the squad that competed against Manchester City in the 2023 UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul.

Thus far in the player’s young career, Bastoni has claimed a total of two Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia trophies, three Supercoppa Italiana triumphs, and runners-up medals in both the Champions League – against Manchester City – and the Europa League.