Mourinho Pushes for Bastoni at Real Madrid, Inter Sets High Price Tag for Defender

Real Madrid hasn't given up on their pursuit of Alessandro Bastoni, but Inter Milan will only consider a sale if they receive an offer deemed irresistible. According to "AS," José Mourinho is keen on adding another top-tier central defender, despite a busy summer at the Santiago Bernabéu so far. The club has already welcomed Ibrahima Konaté, Marc Cucurella, and Denzel Dumfries, with the latter joining from Inter.

The Portuguese tactician is pushing for a complete defensive overhaul, and the Spanish daily reports that Bastoni remains his top target. Initially, Real Madrid had focused their attention on Nico Schlotterbeck as their final defensive reinforcement. After that transfer fell through, the club redirected its efforts towards Bastoni. His name first surfaced at the beginning of the transfer window, following a challenging end to Inter's last season. The situation surrounding the Italian international intensified further after it was revealed he was part of an investigation into child prostitution in the country.

However, Inter has no intention of parting ways with him. Just as they rebuffed earlier interest from Barcelona, the "Nerazzurri" will not enter negotiations for the defender for an offer below 70 million euros. It remains unclear whether the Madrid giants will be prepared to spend such a significant sum to further bolster their defense, especially after already bringing in three new defensive players.