Former Fiorentina, Hellas Verona, and Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni beleives that Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni is developing into a strong senior option in defense for the Italian national team.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Rai Radio, the former striker gave the view that the partnership of Bastoni and Lazio’s Francesco Acerbi gave a good account of themselves against Belgium in the Nations League, and are valid alternatives to the first-choice duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.
Italy defeated Belgium 2-1 in the third place playoff earlier today, with Bastoni and Acerbi doing enough defensively to help the Azzurri see out the match.
Chiellini and Bonucci remain the first-choice pairing for Italy head coach Roberto Mancini, with the Juventus pair still being considered the most trustworthy option.
However, Bastoni in particular has shown the qualities needed to potentially take over as these two age out of the squad, and Toni believes that this was on display against Belgium.
“It’s never easy when there isn’t much connection,” Toni stated of the Bastoni-Acerbi pairing, “but they did well and held up well. They are two great alternatives to Chiellini and Bonucci who are two monsters.”
