Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni has been identified as Barcelona’s top target to strengthen their defence this summer, but movement in their bid to sign him is slow. The Italian centre-back feels it is too slow.
As explained by MD, Bastoni is growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in the move. He gave Barcelona the green light on a move in mid-April, but over the last three weeks, the Catalan side have not entered negotiations with the Nerazzurri. That much was confirmed by Inter earlier in the week. He has done as asked of him since January, and has agreed to a five-year deal with Barcelona.
Hansi Flick yet to give green light on Bastoni deal
Originally reported by Matteo Moretto on RadioMarca, the hold up is Hansi Flick. The German manager is yet to give the green light to go ahead with the move. The Catalan paper add that Flick would prefer a player that had more pace to cover behind the Barcelona defence if their pace breaks down.
🚨 The list of wingers that FC Barcelona are monitoring closely. [@javigasconMD]
– Anthony Gordon
– Víctor Muñoz
– Jan Virgili
– Mika Godts
– Andreas Schjelderup
– Ez Abde. pic.twitter.com/O9Y0S67Qfx— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 6, 2026
It remains to be seen what the outcome of his meeting with Director of Football Deco is. The latter is in favour of signing Bastoni, but Flick has put off transfer decisions until after La Liga is secured, in a bid to avoid distractions. That could be this weekend, depending on the result of El Clasico.
Barcelona have looked at other options
Bastoni is of course not the only option Barcelona are looking at. Tottenham Hotspur duo Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven would become targets if Spurs were to be relegated from the Premier League, and both are quicker than Bastoni. The same could be said of Real Sociedad centre-back Jon Martin, although he lacks the experience Barcelona are searching for. Next week could be decisive for Barcelona’s pursuit of a central defender.
