Italian Serie A champions Juventus have reportedly rejected a £38 million bid from English Premier League giants Manchester City for veteran center back Leonardo Bonucci as head coach Massimiliano Allegri is keen on keeping his backline intact next season.
The 29-year-old Italy international is coming off an impressive stint in the 2016 UEFA European Championship, helping goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Gli Azzurri to concede only one goal in the entire tournament before they were eliminated by reigning World Cup champions Germany in the quarterfinals via a penalty shootout.
SkySports confirmed the reports, saying that the Citizens "have had a £38m bid for Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci turned down by Juventus" as Allegri does not want to dent his three-player backfield also composed of Bonucci's fellow Italy national team members Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini, which is also known through the years as BBC based on the trio's initials.
The 6-foot-3 Viterbo, Italy native has been with the Old Lady since the summer of 2010 when he was acquired from Serie B club FC Bari for €15.5 million. In six season with Juve, Bonucci had appeared in a total of 274 games in all competitions and had scored 16 times during the said time span.
New City head coach Pep Guardiola is said to be keen on improving his squad's backfield especially because of team captain Vincent Kompany's recurring injuries and the exit of veteran center back Martin Demichelis this summer.
Caught Offside noted that the Sky Blues have already spent a total of £64 million on center backs in the past two summers with the acquisitions of Frenchman Eliaquim Mangala from Porto and Argentine Nicolas Otamendi from Valencia both for £32 million, but Guardiola is still not satisfied with the state of his defense at the moment.
The report also mentioned that the huge offer for Bonucci puts into question the seriousness of Guardiola's pursuit for Everton defender John Stones, who is said to be valued at £50 million by the Merseyside squad.
Perhaps the more affordable Bonucci is really the first choice of the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich mentor and Stones is just a plan B in case Juve holds on to their prized defender.