Alessandro Bastoni

Francesco Colonnese rates Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni as the best Italy has.

Bastoni scored one and created the other in Sunday’s 2–1 win against Lazio.

A product of the now-respected Atalanta academy, Bastoni had actually joined Inter for a big £28 million fee back in the summer of 2017 after he had impressed for La Dea’s first-team and Primavera team in the same campaign, briefly plying his trade under Gian Piero Gasperini. Inter loaned him back to the Gewiss Stadium-based club, where his status remained quite the same,best Italy has.

Alessandro Bastoni was born in Casalmaggiore, Italy. Coming from a footballing family, it always seemed likely that Alessandro would follow a similar path to his father Nicola Bastoni, who played in Serie B with Cremonese

On Alessandro Bastoni, former Italy U21 coach Di Biagio said: “It was difficult to make a mistake with him, today I think he is among the best defenders in Europe for defensive qualities and in the setting phase. He will be a leader of the national team for a long time.”

The Lombardy-born center-back’s determination to reach the heights of senior football matches that of his playing style. A committed defender with an excellent read of the game, Alessandro Bastoni is developing into a top-class center-half.

The Italian resembles that of the more modern-style defenders, strong on the ball, confident passer and positionally fluid.

What makes Bastoni the most promising center back

For his age, he is incredibly intelligent and he shows this in his positioning. He also is strong and aggressive in the way he defends but the real quality comes when he is on the ball. He defends on the front foot and in doing this, he offers quality in possession and he has a superb range of passing.

He has the intelligence to see danger, break position, make the tackle and then go on the offensive. His pace allows him this but it also allows him to keep pace with most forwards that come at him. His ability on one on ones is perhaps not talked about enough.

Bastoni’s main position is a central defender. He can play both as right center back and left center back.

In 110 matches he played, he has 4 goals to his name and 6 assists.

Tactical Analysis of Alessandaro Bastoni

The key strength of Bastoni is his reading of the game and the way he positions himself.

Often anticipating danger and attempting to deal with it. Occasionally a little rash, but the Italian makes the coach’s decision to drop him difficult with his committed style.

A left-footer, Bastoni can occupy the central or left-hand side position of the back 3.

Quick acceleration over short distances is a key asset for Bastoni and often leads to winning key challenges and interceptions.

He ranks 92 percentile in the pressures applied at the defensive attacking third. He ranks 1.16 per 90.

Passing and Attacking Ability

Whilst tackling and defensive positioning is key for a modern-day center-half, astute passing is also vital. Teams need confidence in their defenders to add to the attack, through quick passing and switching of play. Bastoni’s defensive reading of the game and understanding of player positioning translates to his passing. Often spotting teammates in open space and finding passes across and through the pitch.

Bastoni ranks quite high in progressing with the ball. He ranks 3.70 per 90 in pass progression and 5.61 per 90, in carrying the ball to the opponent’s net.

Bastoni ranks 91 percentile in assisting the ball which can lead to probable shots.

Bastoni ranks high in short passes completed and attempted with 96 percentile each.

Bastoni ranks 96 percentile in completed live ball passes that lead to a shot and 94 percentile in live ball passes eventually leading to goal.

So there was a match between Inter and Lazio, in which Bastoni scored a goal.

Bastoni scored a wonderful goal from outside the 18 yards. Considering him being a defender, It was a beautiful goal.Bastoni’s 25-yard drive nestled in the Lazio goal’s bottom corner. He had 1 assist to his name too. He had 3 shots in total.

From the above figure, we can see his pass points and heat map. He has made forward passes, as well as most of his passes were in the left side considering he was playing as a left back during that game. He had a pass success of 89%.

From the below heatmap we can see his passes, where he sprayed them. His maximum passes were in the middle or in defense. However he had 3 dangerous passes into the danger zone.

Clearance

Tackles

Tackle %

He had 1 tackles down the left side and he made clearances from the danger zones

The Inter ace continued to impress and had Felipe Anderson in his pocket all night. He neutralized the Lazio attack down the left and contributed to the Inter offense.

He is a good dribbler as he made 2 dribbles and he ranks 91 percentile in dribbling past the opponents leg.

He ranks high in defense splitting passes with 91 percentile.

Bastoni is a good ball carrier. He carries the ball into the danger zone with him ranking 95 percentile in carries to the final third and 99 percentile into the penalty area.

From the below dashboard we can see that he has all the attributes of a modern defender. He ranks high in passes, defensive duties. According to The Telegraph, Tottenham Hotspur are keen on strengthening their defensive options in the summer window and have identified Alessandro Bastoni as a potential target.

The Italian international has been in impressive form in the current campaign again and seems to be attracting admirers across Europe, with Tottenham emerging as a suitor.

Spurs have identified Bastoni as a potential option for the summer window. The 22-year-old is a player that Conte knows very well, having coached him for two years at Inter Milan. The defender also has an intimate knowledge of the Italian tactician’s system and philosophies, which would make him an ideal fit at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Bastoni is contracted with Inter Milan until the summer of 2024. It will likely take a mega-money offer from Tottenham Hotspur to secure the Italian’s signing in the upcoming transfer window.

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