After a move in the summer that failed to transpire, maybe Leonardo Bonucci could be headed to London after all, according to reports.
Bonucci snubbed Chelsea in favour of AC Milan in the summer. The Milan enterprise spent a fortune in the summer buying players in every possible position and redefining their squad. The arrival of the star defender from Juventus was supposed to be the ace in the trump.
However, things have not gone all well for the red half of Milan with wins coming in patches but not in streaks. They are still struggling to hit top gear and have had an average start to the season for a team of their calibre.
Antonio Conte, who has worked with Bonucci before at Juventus and for the Italian national team, knows the centre back inside out. The Italian manager is a long-term admirer of the defender and wanted to bring in the 30-year old to Stamford Bridge to strengthen his backline.
However, a move for him collapsed and Chelsea moved on, by bringing in Roma defender Antonio Rudiger. The 24-year old German is a good player with great potential but is still miles behind from the likes of Bonucci who has become a stalwart.
There has been a talk of Chelsea trying to bring him in with Bonucci’s Milan career not going the way he wanted to. However, there will be obstacles to overcome. First and foremost, there will be a deal to strike with Milan where Bonucci has a contract till 2022.
Although a player of Bonucci’s quality would walk straight into any line-up across Europe right now, including Chelsea’s, the Blues will have to deal with a problem of plenty.
Although, Bonucci will be an upgrade on Gary Cahill, who appears to be past his prime and looking more and more average with every passing game, what his welcome would do however, is that it would slow down the development of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen with Antonio Conte likely to put Bonucci along with David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta at the heart of his defence, should the Italian make the switch.
While getting Bonucci would be a major boost in the backline, Chelsea have bigger issues to deal with. The club is suffering from a serious shortage of players after a mass exodus in the summer and will need to bring in wing backs on the left flank and a recognized striker first to stop them from collapsing. Maybe instead of chasing Bonucci, that is what they should be focusing on.
But should they go all in if an opportunity is presented?
