Man City transfer news: Pep Guardiola to make improved bid for Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci James Ducker
6 JULY 2016 • 7:57PM
Manchester City are expected to make an improved offer for Leonardo Bonucci, after Juventus rejected an opening bid of £38.6 million for the Italy centre-half, as Pep Guardiola steps up his protracted battle to reshape the club’s defence.Guardiola wants to sign two central defenders, a right-back and a goalkeeper but
City may have to pay a fee of around £50 million to lure Bonucci, a similar amount of money to what Everton are demanding for their other centre-half target, John Stones.Bonucci impressed at the European Championships for Italy, who were beaten in the quarter-finals on penalties by Germany last Saturday, and
Guardiola has made no secret of his admiration for the 29-year-old, whom he described as “one of my favourite players” after Bayern Munich’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Juventus in February.But Bonucci is contracted to the Turin club for another four years and it is likely to take a world-record fee close to £50 million to tempt them to sell as City search for an experienced, world-class defender given that Vincent Kompany’s perennial injury woes have left the club unable to depend on their captain’s fitness.
City’s interest in Bonucci has not signalled the end of their pursuit of Stones, for whom Everton are demanding more than the record £49 million fee for an Englishman that City paid Liverpool for Raheem Sterling last summer.Yet the prospect of City paying around £100 million for two centre-halves would be an admission that the signings in the past two years of Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi, who cost a combined total of £74 million, have fallen well short of expectations. City will listen to offers for Mangala depending on their success in the transfer market.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/07/06/man-city-transfer-news-pep-guardiola-to-make-improved-bid-for-ju/
