Five of the best from Serie A
Football Index might be the platform that keeps your bets open forever but it’s still more engaging to spread your portfolio across many of the leagues. Here we look at some of the best players in Serie A.
Number 5. Alessandro Bastoni, £0.95
Inter shelled out £28m for Bastoni back in the summer of 2017 when he was just 19. Loan spells with Atalanta – who Inter signed him from – and Parma have aided his development before he made real strides this season. He’s managed to usurp Diego Godin from the heart of Antonio Conte’s for one thing. That’s no small feat in itself but he would appear on the verge of an international call up too. Man City and Real Madrid have both been linked but Bastoni sees himself staying put with the ambition of becoming a key player with the Nerazzurri.
Number 4. Andrea Petagna, £0.91
Petagna has had quite a remarkable season. He’s part of a struggling side in second bottom SPAL yet he’s been involved in a goal every other game – scoring 11 and teeing up one more. His game is all about power and with three PB pay outs to his name already combined with the fact he will be returning to parent club Napoli ahead of next season and we think he’s somewhat under priced.
Number 3. Andrea Belotti, £1.45
Belotti has been banging goals in for Torino for years now. 85 goals in 179 games – along with 18 assists – is a very good return. The Italy striker is much more than a goal scorer though. He holds the ball up superbly, is a strong runner and scores every type of goal. Napoli are said to be interested but Carlo Ancelotti wants to pair him with Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Everton. Torino are known to have an £87m release clause but that’s only active to clubs outside of Italy, which may favour the Toffees. He will certainly be a better forward option than their last purchase from Italy.
Number 2. Riccardo Orsolini, £2.01
Juventus sold Orsolini last summer for £13.5m. It already looks like a mistake. The 23 year old has stood out as one of the best players in Serie A this season. He’s top scorer for Bologna with seven goals and he’s laid on a further five, all from wide areas too. He’s also ranked as the best midfielder on the Index twice. Juve now wish to bring Orsolini back but a £60m fee might make them baulk given what they sold him for 10 months ago.
Number 1. Lautaro Martinez, £3.70
Cast your mind back two years and very few had heard of Martinez. Inter had though. £22m later and the Argentinian left Racing Club in his homeland and jetted into Italy. His first season in Europe saw him hit nine in 35 games. This season though he’s exploded with 16 in 31, including five in six in the Champions League. Martinez, 22, is very much a technical player and you can see why Barcelona have him picked out as a Luis Suarez replacement. His movement in the box always seems to buy him space and he’s a lethal finisher – be it with foot or head. He’s already broken the 200 mark on the PB side twice and whether he joins Barca or stays in Milan you can bet he’ll start featuring more regularly at the of the dividend charts.
Before you think we’ve lost the plot, we’ve deliberately left Sandro Tonali off this list. He’s unquestionably one of the best players in Serie A – you can read our in depth feature on him here. As for the other five, where is your money going?