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The Leonardo Bonucci dream dies for Chelsea, Manchester City

The world’s best center back signs a new 4.5-year contract with Juventus

Leonardo Bonucci, arguably the world’s best center back, has made his latest long-term commitment to Juventus today by signing a new 4.5-year contract extension. Linked with both Chelsea and Manchester City over the summer, the 29-year-old had repeatedly reaffirmed his desire to stay at The Old Lady in interviews, and now he’s made it official.

Nothing’s permanent of course in the world of football contracts, but this latest deal essentially ends the likelihood of Chelsea or Manchester City negotiating a transfer to the Premier League for Bonucci. (At least for another year.)

Renowned for his class and creativity from defence, Bonucci has been an integral part of Juventus’ rise and success over the years, which has seen them take home five Serie A titles on the trot and, thanks to their most recent win over AS Roma, look well on course for a sixth this season.

Current Chelsea boss Antonio Conte can proudly take credit for part of Bonucci’s development into a world class defender, but while there’s no reunion to be had at Chelsea, Conte did suggest that he could help David Luiz reach similar heights as well. These prognostications sounded far-fetched at the time, but given David Luiz’s performances in the 3-4-3, there could be something to them after all!

As John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic near the ends of their contracts at Chelsea, the club will continue to search for defensive reinforcement. On a related note, reports have begun to surface of Bayern Munich agreeing a deal for the German Niklas Sule — Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen will be pleased to hear the news, and feel they have the chance to prove themselves and win a place in the future.

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