Manchester United’s search for a central defender has taken in some particularly exciting, if expensive targets this summer. A deal for Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld was thought to be close to completion, before the club’s chairman Daniel Levy hiked the price to an unreasonable £75m. United also reportedly have an interest in Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng, with the German club valuing the former Manchester City defender at around €40/50m. Of course, Bayern’s apparent lack of reluctance to sell the player, coupled with his sub+standard World Cup performance suggests that Boateng might be past his prime.
Another suggestion has been bandied about by the press in the last week, in the shape of AC Milan’s Italian international, Leonardo Bonucci. The defender, who only moved to the Rossoneri last summer, after a hugely successful spell at Juventus, but with Milan now suspended from European competition for the next two years due to breaking Financial Fair Play rules, the club may be forced to sell its prized assets. Bonucci would fall into that category.
Sport Witness, citing a report in Gazzetta dello Sport, suggest that the player could be available for as little as €35m, which is a fee that would suit both United and Milan. The former would get a genuinely world class and experienced defender to add to its ranks, for their current crop to learn from, and the latter would receive a hugely welcome chunk of cash. The report also states that Bonucci, who was previously reluctant to leave Italy due to making sure his son was being treated correctly for an undisclosed medical condition would now be open to a move abroad, which would certainly make any potential move to United easier.
Given that Jose Mourinho is clearly fixated on bringing another centre back to the club, he could surely do a lot worse than Bonucci, for the price quoted.
