"Everybody will try to bump the price up" - Steve Nicol says reported Chelsea target is on his way to Tottenham Hotspur

Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has opined that Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni could go to Tottenham Hotspur rather than Chelsea. He believes that the Blues are still unsettled with the new owners in terms of transfer budget and targets.

The west London side were bought by a Todd Boehly-led consortium last month. They will now have to sort things out quickly with the transfer market in its full flow and their competitors signing players already.

Speaking about their situation, Nicol told ESPN:

"Yes, everybody will try to bump the price up (when the Blues come knocking for their players because of the club's new ownership). But it's tough to figure out who Chelsea are going to sign. The players that seemingly are available seem to be on their way. I am talking about people like Bastoni, who looks like he is going to Spurs."

He added:

"I don't think it's anything to do with teams trying to be cute because they have new owners. I just don't think Chelsea have got their house in order as far as targets and spending amounts. There are so many things that aren’t settled at Chelsea."

Tottenham have been linked with Bastoni for a while now (via Give Me Sport). However, his agent made it clear that the Italian will stay at Inter Milan this summer, saying:

"Bastoni will certainly remain at Inter. He has a contract with Inter, he is happy to play at Inter and there's no problem."

However, Inter's financial issues could still open the door for Tottenham.

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Chelsea perhaps needs Bastoni more than Tottenham

The Blues have already seen Antonio Rudiger join Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen leave the club this summer. With Thiago Silva turning 38 in September, Tuchel desperately needs defensive reinforcements.

Bastoni is currently one of the best left-sided centre-backs in the world. He played 31 league matches last season as Inter Milan finished second in Serie A.

He could be the perfect replacement for Rudiger at Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are looking to Bastoni to work in tandem with Ben Davies, who showed immense improvement last season under Antonio Conte. The Welshman was excellent in the 29 matches he played, putting in crucial tackles and building attacks as well.

So it can be argued that the Blues currently need the Inter Milan defender more. However, Bastoni also played under Conte in the 2020-21 season, when Inter Milan won the Scudetto.

Hence, if he does leave San Siro, he could choose to go to north London instead of west London.