Manchester City and Chelsea set to fight for Leonardo Bonucci – Reports

Chelsea and Manchester City are interested in signing Leonardo Bonucci according to reports in Italy. Manchester United were reportedly leading the race to sign him so far.

The defender shocked everyone last summer after swapping Juventus for AC Milan. They spent €42 million to sign Bonucci from Juventus, but he did not prove as effective as he was in Turin.

The new owners of the Rossoneri's tried to rebuild the squad at the club but failed to make it back to the Champions League. They finished sixth in Serie A and only managed to qualify for the Europa League.

However, UEFA have banned them from European competition for two years for a breach of financial fair play rules. They will now have to balance their books by selling a player and Bonucci might be the one as they need a big money sale.

Bonucci was linked with a move to the Premier League last summer as well. Chelsea and Manchester City were said to be keen on signing him, but he opted to join the San Siro side.

Milan know that Bonucci can fetch them more money than any other player they have in the squad right now. Gianluigi Donnarumma might be an exception but would rather lose the central-defender than the promising goalkeeper who can emulate what Gigi Buffon did at Juventus.

Chelsea were said to be the front-runners last summer as Antonio Conte was one of Bonucci's favourite managers. The Italian might not be in charge of the club as he is on the verge of getting, but the interest in Bonucci has remained.

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola wants to add an experienced defender in the squad and has Bonucci on his radar. The former Barcelona manager has had his eyes set on the Italian for a long time and reportedly interested in signing him at Bayern Munich too.