Arne Slot celebrating with Virgil van Dijk after Liverpool won the Premier Leagueplaceholder image
Arne Slot celebrating with Virgil van Dijk after Liverpool won the Premier League | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Arne Slot could turn to Serie A to bolster Liverpool's Premier League title defence
Spending £415 million to get 34% worse is almost as impressive as Slot taking The Reds to their unlikely triumph last campaign and Liverpool have won just two Premier League games since the transfer window slammed shut.
Slot’s only tasted victory six times in all competitions over that spell and watched his side get emphatically eliminated from the League Cup by Crystal Palace. Meanwhile record signings Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz have averaged £34.4m per goal contribution (and £241m in the top flight), Milos Kerkez has been a flop with Connor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate regressing from 2024/25.
At the latter is only a short-term problem with Konate’s contract expiring in 2026 and the Frenchman showing indication that he wants to stay in Merseyside. Judging by the reaction to Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, he won’t be missed.
Slot’s side are conceding more shots on target per Premier League game than last season while their clean sheet percentage has plummeted by almost 10% according to Opta via FBref.com, and most importantly they’re conceding 52% more top flight goals 2024/25. But Liverpool will require a world-class replacement and they’re already eyeing one up in the January transfer window: Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni.
Bastoni can emulate Van Dijk legacy at Anfield
Bastoni is one of the only players who can match or even better Van Dijk’s dominance in his own penalty box with threat to the opposition goal. His FBref page reads greener than Zack Polanski’s Twitter page as Bastoni’s eight goal contributions last season equalled Jack Grealish and bettered Raheem Sterling’s tally.
He was the best player in his position for crosses into the penalty area during last season’s Champions League and in the top 1% (or outright number one) out of centre-backs for assists, progressive passes received, key passes, balls into the penalty area, shot-creating actions, goal-creating actions and crosses.
Bastoni’s poise on the ball and range of passing is truly a sight to behold, beating even that of Van Dijk, and the 26-year-old has been a critical part of Inter’s run to two Serie A triumphs, a pair of Coppa Italias and three European finals, alongside his Euros winners medal with Italy.
And crucially, he’s also a masterful defender. Only Napoli had a better defence than Inter in Serie A last season while they ended the League Phase of the Champions League having conceded only a single goal despite facing Manchester City, Arsenal, RB Leipzig and Monaco.
That’s as many as they’ve let in this European campaign too as only The Gunners boast a better defensive record, and Bastoni is the lynchpin of that. While he’s perhaps not quite as commanding as Van Dijk out of possession, the 6’3” is certainly no pushover and has shown the leadership credentials to captain The Nerrazzurri when regular skipper Lautaro Martinez is unavailable.
With the incredibly aggressive Federico Dimarco ahead of him left flank, he’s often playing as a full-back and centre-back at the same time - something he’ll have to get used to if he’s playing inside Kerkez at Anfield. But can Liverpool actually pull off such a blockbuster deal?
Can Liverpool land world-class Bastoni?
According to Il Giorno (via Gazzetta dello Sport affiliate fcinter1908.it) Liverpool are readying a bid of €100m (£88m) for the Inter Milan star, as part of another bumper upgrade to the starting XI. It would be an audacious move, taking the number of players with world class potential at Anfield to at last six, but Fenway Sports Group have already shown they have the ambition to pull it off.
Bastoni would also be a perfect mentor for the heir to the throne in Italy’s long line of legendary centre-backs, Giovanni Leoni. Another former Parma player, Leoni featured in Liverpool’s nail-biting win over Southampton but picked up a devastating ACL injury so will be out until next season.
However, the 18-year-old will bounce back and a centre-back could wish for no better education right now than from Van Dijk and Bastoni, and could form a partnership with the current Inter star that could dominate both club and international football for approaching a decade.
Liverpool aren’t spending £88m just for a coach though. The Italian can instantly improve The Reds at both ends of the pitch and would be yet another arrival who has proven he can be one of the best players in the world at his position. He would go a long way to solving two major problems for Liverpool and if they can meet Inter’s asking price, there would be few better ways to spend that money.
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