Tottenham, Man Utd or Chelsea: What is Alessandro Bastoni's best transfer option?
FT Desk
- Updated: 8 Jun 2022 13:59 BST
- 4 min read
Italy centre-back Alessandro Bastoni has been strongly linked with a move from Inter Milan to the Premier League, but where would the 23-year-old best fit in?
Tottenham coach Antonio Conte is keen to bolster his side's defence next season, and has made Bastoni a key summer transfer target with the pair having lifted the Serie A title at Inter together in 2020/21.
Bastoni was in the 99th percentile of progressive passes received in Serie A last season and the 97th for shot-creating actions, making him a significant asset at either end of the pitch.
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The Italian is valued at €42 million by FootballTransfers' sophisticated algorithm and could fetch even more than that with a contract which runs until 2023 and Manchester United and Chelsea set to enter the race for his signature.
Bastoni also seems perfectly happy where he is.
"I have a two-year contract with Inter, so I'm very calm," he told Italian broadcaster RAI Sport after Italy's 2-1 UEFA Nations League win over Hungary on Tuesday.
"The club hasn't communicated anything to me, so I'm very calm. I'm thinking about Italy, then I go on holiday and then I resume pre-season training in Appiano with Inter."
Where would Bastoni fit in best?
Bastoni would be a natural fit at Tottenham, with Conte utilising the same three-man defensive system Bastoni was used to at Inter.
The only question mark would be the form of Ben Davies, who enjoyed a second lease of life in Bastoni's favoured position after Conte succeeded Nuno Espirito Santo as coach at White Hart Lane last November.
Harry Maguire also occupies similar positions at Manchester United, but their need for an upgrade in the position is perhaps more acute with the England international having been booed for club and country last term, the Red Devils also conceding 17 more league goals than Spurs.
Chelsea's need for defensive reinforcements is also acute, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leaving for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, with Cesar Azpilicueta looking increasingly likely to follow them in leaving Stamford Bridge on a free transfer.
There are arguments made, then, that he could go to any of these three clubs.
Who is Bastoni?
🖥️ | RECAP
Let's take a look back at Bastoni's best bits from the first part of the season 👉 https://t.co/is8GUnJf2W#ForzaInter 🇮🇹⚫🔵 pic.twitter.com/N0P3VBm3At— Inter (@Inter_en) May 4, 2020
Bastoni is a 6'3"-tall left-footed centre-back who tends to line up on the left-hand side of back three for Inter but as part of central-defensive pair for Italy.
With Giorgio Chiellini having called time on his Italy career, Bastoni is seen as his long-term successor at left centre-back for the Azzurri.
After breaking through at Atalanta, he joined Inter as an 18-year-old in 2017 but spent the next two seasons on loan back at the Bergamo club and then with Parma.
Since breaking into the Nerazzurri's first team on a full-time basis in 2019, Bastoni has racked up 118 appearances in all competitions, and was a cornerstone of the side who lifted the Serie A title in 2021.
