Lazio Star Nominated for Best Serie A Defender Award Alongside Inter Milan & Napoli Players | OneFootball

Lazio left-back Nuno Tavares has been selected as one of three players competing for the Best Serie A Defender Award.

Nuno Tavares Nominated for Best Serie A Defender Award

The 25-year-old certainly didn’t make the cut for his defensive prowess, but for his explosive performances down the left flank early in the season. The Portuguese produced eight assists in his first eight outings, cementing himself as one of the best revelations of the campaign.

Tavares’ Recent Injury Struggles

Sadly for the Arsenal loanee, his second half of the season has been marred by recurring muscle problems. He even left the pitch in tears during the second half of the Europa League quarter-final against Bodo/Glimt. Hence, the left-back hasn’t been able to build any momentum in recent months.

The Three-Man Shortlist

But despite his recent struggles, Tavares had done enough in the first half of the season to warrant a nomination for the Serie A Best Defender Award. He thus joins a three-man shortlist that also includes Italy international centre-backs, Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni and Napoli’s Alessandro Buongiorno.

Alessandro Bastoni the Favorite?

Like Tavares, the Napoli summer signing had his issues with injuries this season which forced him to miss a large part of the campaign, so Bastoni could be the favorite to clinch the accolade, especially with his scintillating performances combining defensive solidity with superb build-up.

The Full Nominations

The winner will be announced on Friday alongside the other end-of-season Serie A Awards, includin the MVP of the 2024/25 campaign, but Tavares is the only Lazio player who was nominated for any accolade.

Here are the full nominations as published by the official Lega Serie A website.

Top 3 Under 23 – Esposito (Empoli); Paz (Como); Yildiz (Juventus)

Top 3 Goalkeepers – De Gea (Fiorentina); Milinkovic-Savic (Torino); Svilar (Roma)

Top 3 Defenders – Bastoni (Inter); Buongiorno (Napoli); Tavares (Lazio)

Top 3 Midfielders – Barella (Inter); McTominay (Napoli); Reijnders (Milan)

Top 3 Forwards – Kean (Fiorentina); Orsolini (Bologna); Retegui (Atalanta)