Why Manchester City should end their pursuit of Leonardo Bonucci
According to Goal.com (h/t Daily Mail), Manchester City are keen on securing the signature of experienced Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci.
City boss Pep Guardiola is on the lookout for an established centre-back to replace their former skipper Vincent Kompany, who departed the club last summer.
Meanwhile, Bonucci, whom Guardiola admires, has emerged as a potential target for defending champions City. The 32-year-old centre-back has spent the majority of his career with Italian side Juventus and is still a key member of the current line-up.
He has made a massive 394 appearances for the Turin-based side and has been instrumental in helping them dominate Serie A in the last decade. Bonucci is a living legend at Juventus, having won 14 major trophies with them, including 7 Serie A titles.
Bonucci seems to have aged like fine wine as he still remains one of the few first names on the team sheet. This season, he has made 25 league appearances and has nine clean sheets to his credit.
The Juventus skipper has been so consistent over the course of his career that he has always been a first-team regular.
With the veteran defender managing to perform at his very best even at this age, it’s no big wonder Guardiola has shown an interest in him. However, the report also suggests that Juventus have no intention of selling their captain. The club values him highly as his vast experience could be utilised for the development of the side’s young defenders Matthijs De Ligt and Merih Demiral.
Bonucci too old for Manchester City
Meanwhile, City are in search for some defensive reinforcements that might help them climb back to the top of the league once again. Guardiola’s defending champions endured a tough season as they fell behind leaders Liverpool by 25 points.
Despite having a potent attacking line-up, City have lacked confidence at the back since Kompany left for Anderlecht.
With reliable centre-back Aymeric Laporte already in the side, Guardiola chose to start the season without a replacement for Kompany. However, it seems to have affected them badly. City lost main man Laporte early in the season due to an injury, keeping him sidelined for the most part of the season.
This led to Guardiola deploying seasoned midfielder Fernandinho in the heart of their defence alongside centre-backs Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones. However, the poor form and inconsistency of Stones and Otamendi seem to have cost City.
That said, City’s pursuit of Juventus ace Bonucci makes complete sense, however, there is a slight problem. Bonucci will turn 33 this May and it would be foolish of City to bring an old guard amongst their midst.
They should rather invest their time and money on an established defender, who can lead the backline for the days to come. Bonucci is clearly not going to get any younger and they need a confident but young face at the back, who can help them stay as one of the top sides in Europe.
Read more:
- Why Manchester City should make a move for Milan Skriniar
- Why Ben White to Manchester City would solve their defensive issues
- Man City prepared to sell £100k-a-week star John Stones to accommodate new signing – A bad move?
Verdict
City already have an aged centre-back in Nicolas Otamendi. Bonucci is clearly not going to get any younger and they need a confident but young face at the back. Moreover, with Juventus clearly not interested in letting go of their main man, City should divert their interest to someone new than waste it on Bonucci.
