Manchester City still in race for Juventus star
Coach Pep Guardiola hinted that his team would need a world-class defender to keep competing, and has often alluded to his admiration for the Tuscan native, whom he approached last summer.
“The defender has to be rougher and tough,” the Catalan confirmed in a press conference (via Football Italia) this weekend.
You cannot compete with strikers like [Romelu] Lukaku, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Douglas] Costa.
“You have to be like that. We are looking for not just that, there have to be qualities of a player, for us it’s so important.”
Bonucci’s permanence in Turin is hardly a slam dunk, his wife making it clear that he stayed last summer out of loyalty. This was said in an interview which came after Bonucci was excluded from a Champions League clash with Porto, having previously exchanged heated words during a 4-1 win over Palermo.
Allegri had actually threatened Juventus with his resignation if the Bianconeri didn’t stand by his decision to omit the Italy international, one of many players to had expressed signs of irritation this season.