There has been a fresh twist in Tottenham Hotspur's pursuit of Inter Milan defender, Alessandro Bastoni...

What's the word?

According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Italy international won't be making the move to north London this summer, with the 23-year-old seemingly set to stay on at the San Siro.

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In an interview with a German media outlet (via The Mirror), the transfer guru stated that: "Alessandro Bastoni was a top target, but he remains with Inter. Milan Skriniar would have the opportunity to leave. Maybe to move to PSG, who are ahead at the moment. But Bastoni is a really complicated matter."

The recent suggestion had been that Spurs were keen on securing a deal for the 15-cap gem, with the club said to be targeting a new left-sided centre-back in the current window, with the likes of Pau Torres and RB Leipzig's Joskvo Gvardiol also reported targets, as per Romano.

Conte fuming

Antonio Conte is typically a manager that likes to get what he wants in the transfer window, hence his undoubted anger that the Lilywhites will be unable to bring one of his top targets to the Premier League this summer.

Even after sporting director Fabio Paratici had worked astutely to add Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur to his squad in January, the former Chelsea boss was still critical of the club's overall transfer dealings, with the Italian seemingly a hard man to please when it comes to recruitment.

With the aid of a £150m cash injection, however, the Spurs hierarchy are seemingly willing to invest significantly to help the serial-winning coach assemble a squad capable of challenging both domestically and in Europe next term, having already completed three major deals thus far this summer.

It appears that Bastoni won't be joining that list, however, with that set to be a clear source of frustration for the man in the dugout, with Conte having worked with the left-footed defender during his recent stint in Italy.

In Inter's title-winning campaign in the 2020/21 season, the £54m-rated ace averaged an impressive 2.2 clearances, 1.2 interceptions and 1.1 tackles per game from his 33 league outings, proving himself a vital asset on the left of the 52-year-old's back-three system.

The £122k-per-week colossus has kicked on again this term in the absence of his former boss, showcasing his ball-playing talents as he ranks in the top 1% for progressive passes received, as well as in the top 11% for progressive carries and the top 15% for progressive passes among his peers across Europe's top five leagues.

Having the chance to add that impressive, familiar face to his squad at Tottenham would no doubt have been firmly on the mind of the one-time Juventus coach, yet now he will be left chasing other targets who may take longer to adapt to his relentless style.

AND in other news: Fabrizio Romano now reveals "very advanced" talks, Spurs supporters will be gutted