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How Pep Guardiola and Man City could benefit from Matthijs de Ligt’s Juventus transfer
PEP GUARDIOLA could finally land Leonardo Bonucci this summer as Matthijs de Ligt get set to join Juventus.
De Ligt’s future has been the subject of widespread speculation over the last few months having been linked to Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona among others.
But it appears the in-demand Dutch teenager is on the verge of clinching a move to Italian champions Juventus, with the two clubs said to be close to a £67million deal for the centre-back to sign a five-year deal in Turin.
Yet while Guardiola will not inherit De Ligt’s prodigious talents himself, he could benefit from the Ajax captain’s move to the Serie A giants, now managed by former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri.
And that is because De Ligt’s arrival at the Allianz Stadium could allow veteran defender Bonucci to leave the club.
The Italy international only returned to Juve 12 months ago after a single season at AC Milan but is likely to see new signing De Ligt claim a starting role alongside captain Giorgio Chellini.
Guardiola has long been a fan of the 32-year-old and was keen to sign Bonucci in the summer of 2016, when City reportedly had bids rejected for the experienced centre-half.
And with the Catalan coach keen to recruit in the position after allowing captain Vincent Kompany to leave, Bonucci could be a cheaper alternative for Leicester City’s Harry Maguire, who the Foxes want at least £90m to sell amid interest from City’s rivals Manchester United.
Italian football expert Paolo Bandini believes a move could be “very plausible” amid suggestions from Italy talks could begin if City were to submit a bid in excess of €50m (£45m) is tabled.
I think he’s a really obvious piece for the club to move on both for his value, his age and the fact that he’s got a big wage
He told ESPN FC: “Whether or not there’s more signings to come [at Juve] I’m not sure. There’ll certainly be some departures with a couple more big wages that they’re bringing into the club.
“The one that’s really fascinating me is the idea revived in the last few days in Italy that Leonardo Bonucci could be on the way out.
“I think that seems very plausible to me because De Ligt is a ball-playing centre-back and Bonucci is a ball-playing centre-back and can you afford to keep two of them in there on big wages?
“The link that has been discussed is Manchester City again.
“We know that Pep Guardiola has in his time expressed a lot of admiration for Bonucci. We know he tried to sign him for Man City a couple of seasons ago when I guess Bonucci’s star was really at its peak.
“Since then he’s had a really bad season at Milan, came back and had a mixed season at Juve.
“Obviously he won the league but there were a lot of situations individually where you could look at it and go, ‘Well he was at fault on this goal and that goal.’
“I think he’s a really obvious piece for the club to move on both for his value, his age and the fact that he’s got a big wage.
“The idea he could finally be united with Guardiola who wanted him a couple of years ago, it’s a fascinating one to me and I think it’s one to keep an eye on because it seems very plausible.”