Tottenham’s pursuit of Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni is in doubt because the defender is reluctant to leave the Italian club.
Spurs are pursuing a deal worth more than £50million for the 23-year-old but while the move is not thought to be dead in the water, Spurs are facing a challenge to convince Bastoni, 23, to join Antonio Conte in London.
His hesitance could prompt the club to turn their attentions to other centre-half targets, with Conte also interested in RB Leipzig’s Joško Gvardiol.
Conte, who agreed to remain in charge of Spurs at a crunch meeting on Friday, has made Bastoni his top target to bolster his back three next season.
The Italy international played 41 times for Inter in 2020-21 as Conte led the club to an historic Scudetto win and has remained a regular under Simone Inzaghi this term.
Inter are thought to be close to agreeing a deal for Torino centre-half Gleison Bremer - another player admired by Conte - and the Nerrazzuri may push Bastoni towards an exit in a bid to balance the books, which would open the door again for Spurs.