Alessandro Bastoni

[SpursSince1980]

Playing Davies over Bastoni would be like playing Friedel over Lloris.

Friedel was actually really solid for us and had a great season previously IIRC but that doesn't mean Lloris wasn't a massive upgrade and capable of a lot of things Fridel simply couldn't do.

Well, don’t b surprised if Davies is initially more trusted than Bastoni by Conte. The former is coming into his prime and was very good since Conte arrival. He (Bastoni) won’t be thrown out there on the starting game of the season. But given sub appearances and mid week games, he will likely supplant Ben by November. Im just not expecting him to be thrown in from the off. Neither was Romero.

Also, this is a tiny bit unfair on Davies. He really displayed maturity, poise, and heart ever since Conte slotted him in as LCB. We are extremely fortunate to now have two really good players in that role. One who has the potential to go from “really good” to “excellent “ over time. (Speaking about in relative terms to the PL)

 

[Timberwolf]

Well, don’t b surprised if Davies is initially more trusted than Bastoni by Conte. The former is coming into his prime and was very good since Conte arrival. He (Bastoni) won’t be thrown out there on the starting game of the season. But given sub appearances and mid week games, he will likely supplant Ben by November. Im just not expecting him to be thrown in from the off. Neither was Romero.

Also, this is a tiny bit unfair on Davies. He really displayed maturity, poise, and heart ever since Conte slotted him in as LCB. We are extremely fortunate to now have two really good players in that role. One who has the potential to go from “really good” to “excellent “ over time. (Speaking about in relative terms to the PL)

I don't mean to shit on Ben cos he's been great, but I think Bastoni offers us a LOT more in possession from deep which is very important in a Conte system.

 

[WorthATry]

Well, don’t b surprised if Davies is initially more trusted than Bastoni by Conte. The former is coming into his prime and was very good since Conte arrival. He (Bastoni) won’t be thrown out there on the starting game of the season. But given sub appearances and mid week games, he will likely supplant Ben by November. Im just not expecting him to be thrown in from the off. Neither was Romero.

Also, this is a tiny bit unfair on Davies. He really displayed maturity, poise, and heart ever since Conte slotted him in as LCB. We are extremely fortunate to now have two really good players in that role. One who has the potential to go from “really good” to “excellent “ over time. (Speaking about in relative terms to the PL)

I absolutely expect Bastoni to be starting from the off. You don't spend that amount on money on someone for them not to be trusted from the get go, and Conte has worked with him before so both parties will know what to expect. Romero was only bedded in a few game later because he returned late due to the Copa America

 

[ATZR]

Quite lucky that bringing in Paratici has coincided with a rise in the overall quality of Serie A. Was always going to be our preferred market to shop in and there seems to be a load of talent in that league at the moment!

Yes, but also no. The fact that Milan was able to win the league through the power of friendship and Ibrahimovic's motivational speeches says a lot. That team is mediocre in the extreme with the exception of a handful. Still, they performed far, far above their level for the entire season. I give them a lot of credit for that.

While there might be a lot of talent in the league, it's losing a lot of that talent, Inter especially. In the past 12 months, Inter has lost: Conte, Lukaku, Hakimi, Eriksen, Perisic and likely soon Bastoni. i.e. half a championship winning team. The quality going out is far greater than what is coming in (again, especially true at Inter). Elsewhere, Milan lost Donnarumma and will lose Kessie too. Leao will probably leave within 2 years unless Milan quintuple his salary, while other talent has departed like De Paul from Udinese, Gomez from Atalanta etc.

As for Bastoni, keep in mind he is not the finished article so there will be (and has been) some bad games. He's not fast and he's not great at stopping speedy wingers getting past him. Luckily he'll have an excellent player helping him out on the left flank ?

 

[DodgyLasagne]

Becoming more and more unconvinced by this guy's actual defending chops the more I see of him. He is an absolute Rolls Royce on the ball, that much is clear. However his aggression, instincts, and willingness to put his body on the line? Not seeing it.

Someone help.

 

[easley91]

Becoming more and more unconvinced by this guy's actual defending chops the more I see of him. He is an absolute Rolls Royce on the ball, that much is clear. However his aggression, instincts, and willingness to put his body on the line? Not seeing it.

Someone help.

He's in his early twenties. He'll learn under Conte and alongside Dier and Romero.

 

[Aay_Jay_Dee]

Yes, but also no. The fact that Milan was able to win the league through the power of friendship and Ibrahimovic's motivational speeches says a lot. That team is mediocre in the extreme with the exception of a handful. Still, they performed far, far above their level for the entire season. I give them a lot of credit for that.

While there might be a lot of talent in the league, it's losing a lot of that talent, Inter especially. In the past 12 months, Inter has lost: Conte, Lukaku, Hakimi, Eriksen, Perisic and likely soon Bastoni. i.e. half a championship winning team. The quality going out is far greater than what is coming in (again, especially true at Inter). Elsewhere, Milan lost Donnarumma and will lose Kessie too. Leao will probably leave within 2 years unless Milan quintuple his salary, while other talent has departed like De Paul from Udinese, Gomez from Atalanta etc.

As for Bastoni, keep in mind he is not the finished article so there will be (and has been) some bad games. He's not fast and he's not great at stopping speedy wingers getting past him. Luckily he'll have an excellent player helping him out on the left flank ?

Yes know what you mean. League is obviously nowhere near as strong as the Premier League and money issues there are notorious. However they still seem to be blooding through some excellent talent.
I would much prefer to buy from Serie A than Ligue 1 or Erevedesie. The calibre of the managers, coaching teams and the passion of the fans are great experience for younger players. Most teams in the league now have players we would be interested in.

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

I don't mean to shit on Ben cos he's been great, but I think Bastoni offers us a LOT more in possession from deep which is very important in a Conte system.

I expect Bastoni to start, and I’m a massive fan of Ben Davies in his current guise. The question I’d ask is.. yes possession from deep is important for the LCB, but at the expense of reliant and steady all round defending ? I want this signing, I think he’ll be amazing, but it wouldn’t suprise me if it takes him a while to adapt defensively to the rigours of the league.

Not at all aimed at your post that I quoted, but I feel it’s a tad unfair to be laughing at people standing up for Davies contribution this season. Forget the average rotational left back/wing back that he was for many years, LCB in a back three whilst being in his prime, has turned him into a different level of player, imo.

We get Bastoni in and it’s going to be really interesting watching how it all shakes out. Davies will be a great fill in at the very least.

Instead of asking if he can play centrally, I wonder, could Bastoni do a job on the right hand side if Romero picked up an injury ?

Bastoni - Dier - Davies

one thing is for sure, if Bastoni settles well a back line of Romero/Dier/Bastoni is going to be insane. The amount of offensive tackling and playmaking through passing is going to be legit wild

 

[walworthyid]

We need the options but we shouldn't underestimate just how good Davies is in that role. Not only does rarely make a serious error, his use of the ball has improved and he gets forward so well now.

Its telling that most of the, admittedly very few, goals that we conceded came from the right and not the left!

 

[Cornpattbuck]

Becoming more and more unconvinced by this guy's actual defending chops the more I see of him. He is an absolute Rolls Royce on the ball, that much is clear. However his aggression, instincts, and willingness to put his body on the line? Not seeing it.

Someone help.

The dodgy lasagne must be affecting your eye sight too, fella...

 

[Spursmatty87]

Well, don’t b surprised if Davies is initially more trusted than Bastoni by Conte. The former is coming into his prime and was very good since Conte arrival. He (Bastoni) won’t be thrown out there on the starting game of the season. But given sub appearances and mid week games, he will likely supplant Ben by November. Im just not expecting him to be thrown in from the off. Neither was Romero.

Also, this is a tiny bit unfair on Davies. He really displayed maturity, poise, and heart ever since Conte slotted him in as LCB. We are extremely fortunate to now have two really good players in that role. One who has the potential to go from “really good” to “excellent “ over time. (Speaking about in relative terms to the PL)

I agree that Davies might start the season. Don’t agree that it’s unfair I also think Davie will get plenty of game time. I think as a fan base we need to get away from the notion of a best starting 11 and think more about how we need to be able to use every squad player.

 

[C0YS]

Well, don’t b surprised if Davies is initially more trusted than Bastoni by Conte. The former is coming into his prime and was very good since Conte arrival. He (Bastoni) won’t be thrown out there on the starting game of the season. But given sub appearances and mid week games, he will likely supplant Ben by November. Im just not expecting him to be thrown in from the off. Neither was Romero.

Also, this is a tiny bit unfair on Davies. He really displayed maturity, poise, and heart ever since Conte slotted him in as LCB. We are extremely fortunate to now have two really good players in that role. One who has the potential to go from “really good” to “excellent “ over time. (Speaking about in relative terms to the PL)

Both will get plenty of games, but I'd be shocked if Bastoni isn't starting on the very first game. I'm a massive Ben Davies fan always have been, but Bastoni will probably be our record transfer for good reason, he's genuinely a superb CB and is well on his way to becoming the natural heir to a long line of Italian world class CBs.

Davies will play as rotation will be key, and 5 subs is great, and yeah Bastoni may well take time to adapt but let's not underplay what a massive coup and statement signing Bastoni would be.

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

If we sign Bastoni - I don't know who will start the first game. But, the beauty is both players will have a full pre-season to make their case.

And, if we have Davies and Bastoni in the squad - we are much stronger than we were this past season with only Davies as a LCB.

 

[C0YS]

Getting Bastoni to say yes is a big step. Difficult to get italians out of Seria A

Meh, this used to be the case but much less so these days. Like the English it used to be that as a whole Italians would stay in their own country. But the debt crisis has changed that and young Italians are very open to leaving for work and opportunities. This has also reflected in football. Players like Donarumma, Verratti, Moise Kean and Pietro Pellegri were all very open to moving abroad at young ages.

It is true that the vast majority of the national team are based in Italy. Partly this is simply the case for all the countries in the top 4 leagues. Partly it's down to Italy actually becoming a relatively good place to develop which was not the case a few years ago.

Now, obviously Bastoni may well want to stay in Italy. Particularly as Inter is a big club and for an Italian the idea of going to Tottenham won't exactly be seen as a step up. But I think it isn't like it was 10 years ago.

The biggest issue by far is convincing Bastoni that it is us that he should go to and develop because he probably knows that if he waits clubs with bigger names may well be interested and Inter isn't exactly a small club to stay at.

 

[Aay_Jay_Dee]

Those who Bastoni better - could be potentially deputise for Romero if (when) he is suspended? Or can he only play LCB?

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Those who Bastoni better - could be potentially deputise for Romero if (when) he is suspended? Or can he only play LCB?

I would not think so - being left-footed.

I would guess we still have Sanchez, or we will bring in another CB who is right-footed.

 

[C0YS]

If we could get Barella, that would make us contenders next season. Unfortunately, very little chance that happens.

I like barella a lot and would take him in a heartbeat but I do think his talents are best used in a midfield 3, if playing a two I'm not sure you would get the most out of him. So, for me it's not one I'd lose sleep over. For me it's more important we get the right player and that's not always the best one.

 

[C0YS]

Those who Bastoni better - could be potentially deputise for Romero if (when) he is suspended? Or can he only play LCB?

He is a left footer which would make him a very strange choice at RCB, and I don't think he has ever played there, he has played in the centre of a back three on occasion and can certainly deputise there.

 

[roy@SC]

If we sign Bastoni - I don't know who will start the first game. But, the beauty is both players will have a full pre-season to make their case.

And, if we have Davies and Bastoni in the squad - we are much stronger than we were this past season with only Davies as a LCB.

I do know who will start the 1st game if both fit... not davies

 

[nedley]

Becoming more and more unconvinced by this guy's actual defending chops the more I see of him. He is an absolute Rolls Royce on the ball, that much is clear. However his aggression, instincts, and willingness to put his body on the line? Not seeing it.

Someone help.

Doesn't matter. We have 2/3 to do that.