Manchester City are eyeing Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni.

FCInterNews says Inter are desperate to tie the 23-year-old down to terms beyond the 2024 expiry date of his current contract.

That's not because they fear an approach from Tottenham Hotspur - a club linked with the defender a lot in recent times - but because they believe City could make a move.

Although Bastoni is a quality player, there seems little chance City would try to sign him unless they offloaded at least one of their five current centre-backs first. Pep Guardiola's preference is to have four central defenders in his squad, but this season he has Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, John Stones and Manuel Akanji.