Roberto D'Aversa has sung the praises of Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni.

D'Aversa coached the Italy international with Parma.

He told TMW: "Alessandro came to Parma after a small meniscus surgery. Already at the time of Lanciano, in Serie B, with the director Luca Leone we had tried to sign him. When he came to me he was used to playing a totally different type of football from how we interpreted the defensive phase.

"It took him some time both to recover physically and to understand some situations. but the moment he started in the match that we won against Torino he began his career.

"In my opinion, from a technical and ball management point of view, he is one of the best, he has an efficiency in the vertical pass that is uncommon among top level players in Europe.

"From my point of view he needs to improve in terms of defender's wickedness, but I think he's already a top player. He's a silent leader, like me when I used to play. There are different ways to do it: on the pitch, with technical skills, with dialectics. He is not someone who talks a lot but on the pitch he makes himself respected.

"I call him a technical leader, because on the construction of the action he is among the best in the world. I'm happy for him."