The football world has been put on alert with Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci expressing his appreciation for the Premier League and terming Pep Guardiola as the “best” manager in the world. The Italian has been on top of the priority list of the Manchester City boss as well, with Guardiola declaring Bonucci as his “favourite”.
Manchester City defence has been in complete doldrums of late, with their mainstay in defence, Captain Vincent Kompany, being in and out of the team with injuries. As a result, John Stones has to take the burden of the defensive responsibilities on his shoulders, with not much of a support coming from his teammates. In this situation, presumably, the best option in front of Guardiola is the in-form Bianconeri defender Leonardo Bonucci.
Leonardo Bonucci recently signed a new contract with the Turin club that runs out in 2021, but recent fallouts with the manager Max Allegri has placed the 29-year-old defender’s future at Juventus in a bit of jeopardy. Manchester City is looking to take advantage of the situation and make him a part of the line-up in the next season.
Leonardo Bonucci is known for his physical strength to keep possession of the ball for a long time. Deep concentration on the ball and pinpoint passing are the main strengths that the Azzurri defender banks upon. The Juventus defender packs a punch when it comes to restricting opponent players from scoring goals. However, Bonucci has been criticised in the past for his weak tackling ability.
Reportedly, the current Premier League leaders Chelsea is also in pursuit of the Juventus defender. Manchester City is looking to leave no stones unturned in order to include the Italian centre-back in their squad, as they believe that this move will make their team stronger defensively.
Bonucci has said that he has been watching English games of late and says that it fascinates him a lot. He has also appreciated the passionate fans who make the games lively with their support.
However, there has been rumours that the Bianconeri defender will not be coming cheap for Manchester City. In fact, there have been reports pointing towards a probable world record transfer fee for any defender.
Though there has not been any disclosure of how much the fee could be, Manchester City might have to cough up something over £50 million to secure the services of Leonardo Bonucci for the forthcoming season. In 2014, Paris Saint German had to pay the same amount for the Brazilian defender David Luiz whom they procured from Chelsea.
