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From Spain: Real Madrid to challenge Chelsea for Italian international

From Spain: Real Madrid to challenge Chelsea for Italian international

Spanish portal Don Balon (via The Express) claims that Real Madrid has lined up the successor to Portuguese defender Pepe. The 34-year-old is set to leave the Santiago Bernabeu this summer and the club know exactly who they want to replace him.
 
The player in question is Juventus and Italy centre-half Leonardo Bonucci; the 29-year-old has been subject of much transfer speculation since the summer and these latest reports suggest that speculation will continue well beyond the end of the current campaign. Chelsea have also been heavily linked with a move and boss Antonio Conte knows all about the player having coached him during his time in charge in Turin.
 
Add to this the fact that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has already described him as the best central defender in Europe means we could have a three-way fight to try to take him away from his hometown club. The Bianconeri for their part, have stated that it would take a sizeable offer for them to consider selling one of their star players with latest reports suggesting that figure to be around £42 million.