Liverpool will have to pay ‘huge money’ to sign Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan in the summer with a deal for a Tottenham player ‘more likely’, according to reports.

The Reds have struggled in the Premier League this season with Arne Slot’s side, who won the title last term, currently in sixth place and in danger of missing out on Champions League qualification.

Their plans at centre-back were destroyed early on in the season with Marc Guehi, who now plays for Manchester City, failing to complete a move to Liverpoolafter Crystal Palace pulled the plug on the deal at the last minute.

After losing out on Guehi, Liverpool then had to deal with news in September that new centre-back signing from Parma, Giovanni Leoni, would miss the rest of the season through injury.

That has left them with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahim Konate, who haven’t been on top form, as their main options at centre-back, while injury-prone Joe Gomez has also filled in there.

Konate now looks like he could leave Liverpool in the summer on a free transfer with Real Madrid looking to tie up a deal for the France international.

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Jeremy Jacquet will join from Rennes in the summer but the Reds will need at least another signing in that position to be ready for next season.

Inter Milan centre-back Bastoni has emerged as a possible option for Liverpool in recent months but Football Insiderjournalist Pete O’Rourke has warned that the Reds will need to pay ‘huge money’ to land the Italy international.’

It is understood that ‘bids in excess of ￡80million will be required just to bring Inter to the negotiating table’ while a deal ‘depends on whether he is keen to explore a new challenge in his career’.

In a potential boost to Liverpool, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently revealed doubts that Barcelona could compete financially for Bastoni.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “When discussing Barcelona’s plans for the summer, one of the dream targets in defence remains Alessandro Bastoni. Barcelona really appreciate Bastoni and they admire his profile as a defender.

“However, I continue to repeat that for Inter he is an absolutely crucial player. He is not just another squad member. He is one of the most important players in the team and also an Italian international, so it would be a very complicated deal.

“The interest from Barcelona is genuine because they like Bastoni a lot, but everything will depend on their financial priorities and how much they decide to invest in different positions.

“We must remember that Barcelona will likely spend around €30 million to sign Marcus Rashford on a permanent transfer. In addition to that, the club are also looking for a number nine.

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“So the key question is whether Barcelona will still have the budget to afford Bastoni. That is why they are monitoring several alternatives and keeping different options open.”

O’Rourke adds in his report that a deal to sign Tottenham centre back Micky van de Ven is ‘more likely for Liverpool’ with the Reds ‘leading the race’ to sign the Netherlands international.

The report in Football Insidercontinues: ‘Van de Ven is expected to seek a move away from Tottenham in the summer, and as a result, he is a more likely candidate to join Liverpool than Bastoni is at the moment.’

Van der Ven was seen snubbing Thomas Frank in the aftermath of a defeat to Chelsea earlier in the season and former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson doubts those kind of actions will endear him to potential suitors in the summer.

Johnson said: “Managers need to know that ability alone isn’t enough.

“Players need to be willing to do what their teammates, the manager, and the team require in games.

“It’s not nice to see someone publicly disagreeing with in-house decisions like Micky van de Ven did.

“Disagreeing in the dressing room or on the training ground is fine, as you want the best for everyone.

“But to do it publicly is off-putting. It gives the impression that a player is better than the rest. And maybe he is, but that’s not the point. You don’t want to see that.

Johnson added: “Van de Ven at Liverpool or Manchester United? There’d probably be a lot of (Tottenham) players that people would want to look at, but the ones they are looking at are still the players who are in this team and in a relegation battle.

“So there would be a couple of gems you could get on the cheap, for sure. But, as I say, if they were that good, they wouldn’t be in this position.”

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