Leonardo Bonucci – Juventus Return Would Be One of Summer’s Biggest Shocks

I believe it’s fair to say we’ve had a pretty interesting summer thus far. And to describe it like that would even come as an understatement.

Cristiano Ronaldo made a shock swoop to Juventus in a £100 million-plus deal earlier in July and the Portuguese has been the biggest talk of the town as he settles in his new environment. Having materialized a move for the officially best player on the planet, Bianconeri have cemented their reputation as transfer specialists. And with the summer transfer window heading towards its closure this August it is once again Serie A champions who could hit the limelight yet again.

And no, I’m not talking about all the drama regarding a potential Miralem Pjanic departure and another headliner coming in – most prominently Paul Pogba or Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – I’m talking about a prodigal son’s potential return.

Yes, I’m talking about Leonardo Bonucci.

It’s been roughly around a year since news of Leonardo Bonucci leaving Juventus sent shockwaves across the footballing landscape. For a footy enthusiastic with no deeper knowledge of the Italian football, such news came as quite a puzzle. Why would anyone want to get rid of a player dubbed the most reliable centre-back on the planet and a man Pep Guardiola once described as “one of my favourite ever players”?

Yet, the reasons behind Leonardo Bonucci’s Juventus departure were not that hard to understand. Bonucci’s departure was facilitated by his strained relationship with head coach Massimiliano Allegri. The Italian international insulted his manager during a 4-1 over Palermo during the 2016/17 season and their relationship was never the same.

The storied defender who helped Juventus to six successive Serie A trophies and was a commanding force in Juventus’ Champions League pushes was in the end shoved out of the club with AC Milan welcoming him with open arms.

“In the last part of the last season, this bond had faded a bit on both sides and thus it was decided for us to go our separate ways. I was lucky enough to have this offer from Milan, which intensified quickly.”, Bonucci said of the reasons for leaving Juventus.

He could’ve gone to England, yet Premier League was never in his plans. A huge ‘local patriot’ if I may, decided to stay in his homeland and wholeheartedly accepted the downgrade from Champions League powerhouse to Europa League scrape-through side.

Would Ruined Allegri Relationship Be a Problem?

A year after his ear-piercing move to AC Milan, here is Leonardo Bonucci, once again doing rounds with the majority of world’s renowned media reporting he has his heart set on a return to Juventus. The 31-year-old is coming off from a season well below his standards. Bonucci failed to find the glorious form from his Juventus days whereas the club’s financial instability and the Europa League ban are said to be the last drops.

The player is now looking to leave Rossoneri and the club’s returning official Leonardo admits his namesake is looking to rejoin his former club.

“The desire [to talk to Juve] started with Leonardo Bonucci, so if we can, we’ll make it happen. We have no objection to it.”, he said.

And while both Bonucci and AC Milan have nothing against the Juventus return there is a question of how Juventus’ proud supporters are going to react to the news. Not only did he leave the club on the back of a verbal disagreement with head coach – which is a display of disrespect, to begin with – Bonucci also stabbed a dagger in their hearts even deeper when he celebrated scoring against Bianconeri at the Allianz Stadium.

“I celebrated because of how I was welcomed. I was in doubt before the game but when I noticed I was booed I decided to celebrate”, Bonucci told Italian media after the game.

Bonucci Boost

Without even bothering about what Juventus faithful would say, Leonardo Bonucci and his entourage have begun Juventus return talks. The Italian media report a meeting between his agent and Juventus took place on Friday.

Alessandro Lucci opened negotiations with Fabio Paratici and Beppe Marotta in the city of Milan with the evaluation of transfer on the agenda. Juventus would accept Bonucci and appear to be willing to send talented Mattia Caldara in the opposite direction with Corriere dello Sport claiming such an arrangement would only be possible if AC Milan inserted a buy-back clause in Caldara’s contract.

There is no doubt that Leonardo Bonucci’s return to Juventus would be another piece of shock in this summer’s transfer window – from an emotional point of view in the first place. His return would only strengthen Juventus’ position ahead of the new season with Bianconeri currently a paltry 1/20 price to win another Scudetto.