Leonardo Bonucci in action against Greece in the European qualifiers (Getty Images)
According to Italian outlet Calciomercato (h/t football.london), Fabio Paratici is planning to bring Dejan Kulusevski and Leonardo Bonucci to Tottenham. The former Juve sporting director is expected to join Spurs this week in a new role, with an announcement looking imminent.
And the report mentions that he is planning ahead for the summer window as Spurs aim to put a poor season behind them. It further goes on to say that ‘at least’ one Juventus player will join Spurs, and here we list out why it should be Bonucci, the experienced centre-back.
Bonucci has been regarded as one of the best central defenders of our time. The Juventus centre-back has spent over a decade in Italy’s top-flight and continues to impress even at the age of 34. The defender had 2.5 clearances per game, 90% pass accuracy, 1.3 interceptions and 0.7 tackles per match.
Apart from that, he was, on average, dribbled past just once every 3 games while also making 0 errors that led to a shot, let alone a goal. This shows that his all-round game in defence can really benefit Spurs next season. (h/t SofaScore)
This is not to claim that the numbers are reason enough to sign the player but it shows he is still producing quality.
Jose Mourinho, ex-Spurs manager, rightly praised Bonucci after Juventus’ stellar performance against Manchester United in 2018 as he spoke to BT Sport (h/t The Sun).
“When we speak about quality sometimes people look for Cristiano, Dybala, Pjanic but in a top team you have to look to Chiellini and Bonucci. Juventus are the kind of team that when they’re in front it’s difficult to see them concede a goal.”
Whatever the veteran defender might lack physically because of his age, he would more than compensate for it with his experience as well as winning mentality. Let’s just look at the numbers behind an immense career for Bonucci. For starters, he has 598 senior appearances to his name and over 51,000 minutes of experience on the pitch at club level.
And to add to that, he has played 102 matches for the Italian national side, where he was a key member in their run to the Euro 2012 final. Also, Bonucci has a stacked trophy cabinet with 9 Scudettos and 4 Italian Cups, while also winning the Serie A footballer of the year in 2016.
For a team with no trophies in 13 years, Spurs could really do with someone like Bonucci, who has winning experience.
Let us forget that we are talking about the great Leonardo Bonucci for a moment. Spurs are in need of adding depth and especially quality to their backline. Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, and Davinson Sanchez have been the three trusted centre-backs this season.
But Bonucci would further add to the depth if he is signed because Japhet Tanganga and Joe Rodon are still young and inexperienced to be first-choice defenders next season. The younger ones can learn a lot from Bonucci, and perhaps become ready to take over his position at the club.
