John Stones is a free agent this summer and the Manchester City star may be on the verge of joining Inter Milan, which could open the door for Liverpool to sign Alessandro Bastoni.
A report from TEAMtalk on Monday claimed that Liverpool were one of the Premier League clubs considering a Bosman transfer to sign Stones after his £250,000 per week contract with City expired on 1 July.
The report said: “That has prompted the club to step up work on potential additions, with England internationals John Stones and Ezri Konsa both under serious consideration. Stones is viewed as an especially attractive option after becoming a free agent following his departure from Manchester City.”
Stones, however, like Joe Gomez, is an injury liability. At 32, the English centre-back is not going to improve physically, which makes his record with Man City in recent years all the more worrying for a buying club. Of the 380 City games he was at the club for, the former Evertonian only featured in 180. Missing 200 games through injury is not the level of risk Liverpool need to be taking right now.
Should he move to Inter Milan, however, it could open the door for Liverpool to sign Bastoni – exactly the centre-back profile Andoni Iraola needs in the post-Konate era. The Frenchman joined Real Madrid for free when his own contract expired at the start of this month.
The transfer dominoes that could see Liverpool sign Bastoni after years of incessant links
The Athletic reports that Inter are in talks to sign Stones as a free agent after his City exit. James Horncastle and David Ornstein report that “talks are ongoing with the hope that the transfer can be completed by the end of the week.”
Liverpool, who have been linked with Bastoni in every transfer window for the last few years, could now get their chance.
The most recent link Live4Liverpool has covered about Bastoni is from Fabrizio Romano, reporting interest from Barcelona and Liverpool, dated 2 April.
Before that, Football Insider reported that Bastoni was a player on the Liverpool shortlist should Konate not sign a new deal – the Frenchman has since left the club which could now see the Reds circle back for Bastoni, particularly now Stones is potentially on his way to Milan.
Lamine Yamal called Bastoni a “monster” after facing the Italian in the Champions League semi-final in 2025. Liverpool need an aggressive, proactive defender to partner Virgil van Dijk in the new-look Liverpool under Iraola.
Michael first started supporting Liverpool after Istanbul in 2006. He has since followed the Reds with passion and curiosity, founding Rousing the Kop, Anfield Central while briefly co-owning Anfield Watch. Michael lives in Cape Town, South Africa.