Man City have reportedly seen a fresh attempt to prise Leonardo Bonucci away from Juventus fail as they have no intention of parting company.
The reigning Premier League champions lost former influential captain Vincent Kompany last summer, while Aymeric Laporte has missed a significant part of the campaign due to injury.
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That in turn has contributed to Pep Guardiola’s side conceding 31 goals in their 28 league games thus far, and considering they conceded just 23 in the whole of last season, it shows that it is an area in which they will have to improve in again to compete with rivals Liverpool moving forward.
However, according to Goal Italy, Bonucci won’t be the solution as it’s noted that Juventus have rejected another attempt by Man City to sign the 33-year-old, as it’s emphasised that he is a central figure in their project and renewed his deal last year, while it’s noted that after his year with AC Milan, he has no intention of leaving Turin now having learned from that experience.
It’s specifically noted that Guardiola has been keen on the Italian international for years, but as Man City are tipped to perhaps even sign two defenders this summer by Goal, Bonucci is unlikely to be one of them based on the reasons outlined above.
The defensive stalwart has enjoyed a very successful career to date having emerged as a serial winner with Juventus. Bonucci has won seven Serie A titles, three Coppa Italia trophies and four Italian Super Cups, while he has long been a permanent fixture in the backline for Italy too.
Combine that winning mentality with his experience, quality, leadership and composure in possession, it’s entirely understandable as to why Guardiola would want him at Man City as he’s an ideal fit to come in and also make an immediate impact.
As per the report above though, it looks as though the Spaniard will have to find alternative solutions to address a key problem at the Etihad ahead of next season as Bonucci won’t be leaving Juventus any time soon.