![\"Liverpool](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/aHR0cHM6Ly9ldS1pbWFnZXMuY29udGVudHN0YWNrLmNvbS92My9hc3NldHMvYmx0YTkwZDA1YWQ0MWE1NGE3MS9ibHRjYzBlZjEw.webp\"\/)
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Published 12:55 3 Mar 2026 GMT<\/p>\n
The Premier League champions may become embroiled in a bidding war for a highly rated defender to strengthen their squad this summer.<\/p>\n
Liverpool and Barcelona could reportedly become embroiled in a bidding war for a world-class defender who has impressed at one of Europe\u2019s biggest clubs.<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite signing Giovanni Leoni from Serie A side Parma in the summer of 2025 and being set to welcome Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes next season, it appears that Arne Slot<\/a> may also add a more experienced campaigner to his squad ahead of the 2026\/27 Premier League<\/a> season.<\/p>\n With Virgil van Dijk<\/a> likely approaching the end of his time with the Reds in the coming seasons, while Ibrahima Konate\u2019s current contract is set to expire following the 2025\/26 campaign, there may be space for recruits to come into Liverpool<\/a>\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n Liverpool academy graduate Jarell Quansah<\/a> has been linked with a potential return to his boyhood club after impressing in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen since his \u00a335 million switch last summer.<\/p>\n However, the Reds may look to replace Konate, should he depart, with a more experienced defender who boasts experience at the highest level.<\/p>\n As reported by CaughtOffside<\/a>, Inter and Italy centre-back Alessandro Bastoni is of interest to the Reds, while Barcelona, who see the defender as a perfect fit for their playing style, and Arsenal are also keen on the 26-year-old.<\/p>\n Bastoni, who is contracted to the Serie A giants until June 2028, has made 291 appearances for the Nerazzurri since arriving from Atalanta in 2017.<\/p>\n The defender has also earned 41 caps for his country and formed part of the UEFA Euro 2020-winning side, although he only appeared once during the tournament.<\/p>\n According to CaughtOffside, Inter would consider offers between \u20ac90\u2013100 million (\u00a378.5\u201387.7 million).<\/p>\n Chelsea and Manchester City are also reportedly monitoring the player\u2019s situation, while Inter are keen for Bastoni to extend his contract until at least 2030.<\/p>\n Bastoni fits the profile of a modern ball-playing defender and is known for his passing ability, which has earned him 30 assists since arriving at Inter.<\/p>\n Speaking in 2024, Bastoni revealed that he modelled his game on Real Madrid and Germany defender Antonio R\u00fcdiger and admitted that he tries to \u201cimitate him\u201d.<\/p>\n Inter are currently top of Serie A, 10 points clear of second-placed AC Milan.<\/p>\n Featured Image Credit: Getty<\/p>\n Topics:\u00a0Liverpool<\/a>, Barcelona<\/a>, Alessandro Bastoni<\/a>, Transfer News<\/a>, Football<\/a>, Premier League<\/a>, Serie A<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published 12:55 3 Mar 2026 GMT The Premier League champions may become embroiled in a bidding war for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[179773,199,748,393,94,4884,179,101,8634,100,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-801229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-alessandro-bastoni","9":"tag-barcelona","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-liverpool","15":"tag-premier-league","16":"tag-serie-a","17":"tag-transfer-news","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Alessandro](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/aHR0cHM6Ly9ldS1pbWFnZXMuY29udGVudHN0YWNrLmNvbS92My9hc3NldHMvYmx0YTkwZDA1YWQ0MWE1NGE3MS9ibHQ1NzE5ODY2.webp\"\/)
Alessandro Bastoni has impressed at Inter (Credit:Getty)<\/p>\n