Man Utd To Hijack Chelsea’s Move With £25m Bid For Italian Star

The opening of the summer transfer window is fast approaching so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe. Today, Man Utd are ready to challenge Chelsea to the signature of Leonardo Bonucci….

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is ready to anger his former club by hijacking Chelsea’s attempts to sign Leonardo Bonucci with a formal £25m bid for the Juventus defender, according to the Daily Star.

Bonucci has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in recent weeks with incoming boss Antonio Conte understood to have identified the centre-back as a key transfer target this summer.

Conte is expected to be busy in the market rebuilding the Blues squad following a disastrous campaign and the 46-year-old knows Bonucci extremely well from their time together with both Juventus and the Italian national team.

Recent reports suggested that Chelsea are lining-up an offer for the 29-year-old defender, however, it looks as though they’ll now face stiff competition as the Daily Star claim that Man Utd are now set to hijack their attempts to sign the Italian star.

Mourinho was installed as the new United boss last month and he’s expected to be extremely busy rebuilding the squad Louis van Gaal left behind after seeing the club limp to a disappointing fifth-placed finish last season.

While the Portuguese coach has already splashed out on the signing of young Ivory Coast defender Eric Bailly the Daily Star claim Mourinho also wants to bring in a more experienced partner for Chris Smalling and is now ready to table a £25m bid for Bonucci.

However, the newspaper suggests that Juventus are desperate to keep hold of the centre-back and as his contract runs until 2020, they are under no pressure to sell so have slapped a £50m price-tag on his head.

It’s highly unlikely any club will be willing to pay that kind of money given Bonucci’s age but you’d expect the likes of Chelsea or United will have to do better than £25m to persuade the Serie A champions in to a sale.

READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

Bonucci would be a sensational signing if either club could pull it off as he’s developed in to one of the best central defenders in world football since joining Juve from Bari in 2010, with his rock solid performances at the back helping them to five consecutive league titles.