The Old Lady are resigned to losing star defender
Juventus are set to reluctantly accept Manchester City’s £51 million bid for defender Leonardo Bonucci, as they prepare a move for Bayern Munich’s Medhi Benatia.
Pep Guardiola is keen to bolster his defensive options, ahead of his debut season managing in the Premier League, and sees Bonucci as the perfect man to link up with captain Vincent Kompany in the centre of his defence.
City recently bid £51 million for the Juventus centre-back and the Serie A outfit are now reportedly ready to accept that offer, once they have put in a formal bid to Bayern for their Morocco international.
Benatia made just 22 appearances for Bayern last season, as they secured the Bundesliga title, having signed for the club two years ago.
And Juve are confident they can lure the 29-year-old away from the Allianz Arena, which will allow them to sell Bonucci to City.
The Premier League outfit are prepared to double Bonucci’s current wage package with Juve, who currently pay him £3.2 million a year, while City are prepared to offer £132,000-a-week – £6.9 million a year – on a five-year contract.
Bonucci, who has been at Juve since 2010, is also attracting the interest of Chelsea, who are now managed by the player’s former Juve boss, Antonio Conte, who began working with his Chelsea players on Monday.
However, it now seems inevitable that if the Italy international does leave Turin this summer, it will be for City rather than the Blues.
