The 20-year-old has put Diego Godin’s place at Inter Milan at risk this season.
According to a report from Passione Inter, Liverpool are interested in signing Inter Milan’s highly-rated central defender Alessandro Bastoni.
The 20-year-old has started 12 games in the Serie A this season and his performances have forced Antonio Conte to use him ahead of Diego Godin. (Calcio Mercato)
The Uruguayan is among the best footballers in the world and for a 20-year-old to be above him in the pecking order says a lot about Bastoni’s quality.
Liverpool aren’t short of good defenders at the moment with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomes, Joel Matip and young Sepp van den Berg at Jurgen Klopp’s disposal.
However, Bastoni’s quality is something that clubs like Liverpool can’t ignore and if Klopp manages to lure him in, he would be perfect in the German’s system.
At Inter, Conte’s centre-halves are vital to his side’s attacking game. Their philosophy is to attract pressure, get the ball ahead of the first line of pressing and exploit the spaces left behind by the opposition.
Bastoni’s quality on the ball is one of the biggest reasons why Conte has preferred him over Godin. The Italian is incredibly calm under possession and with him, Liverpool, like Inter, will have a left-footed option in their defence.
This would allow them to be a lot more comfortable against teams that press outwards, something that van Dijk already is. The Dutchman moving to the right to accommodate Bastoni would help Liverpool’s defence remain a lot calmer when under pressure.
Bastoni is still only 20 and has a lot of time to improve. Him staying under a manager like Conte is arguably the best thing for him at the moment, but turning down a move to the European champions isn’t something many players would do.
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