Leonardo Bonucci urges ex-teammate to join him at AC Milan

Italian football has seen plenty of surprises during this summer’s transfer window with AC Milan splashing around £181.5m on ten players to date. Mateo Musacchio, Franck Kessie, Ricardo Rodriguez, Andre Silva, Fabio Borini, Hakan Calhanoglu, Andrea Conti and Antonio Donnarumma had all arrived earlier in the window while Bonucci and Lazio’s Lucas Biglia will be the latest additions, subject to a successful medical.

The Juventus man had plenty to offers to choose from including the Premier League, and a move to the Rossoneri is likely to leave a bitter taste among the Old Lady faithful. The former Bari man is due to ink a five-year deal with the San Siro giants with a fee of around £36.7m negotiated with their domestic rivals.

According to Calciomercato h/t Tuttosport, Bonucci is eager to work alongside Alvaro Morata, who is currently in the ranks of Real Madrid. The centre-back has been offered the captain’s armband as a sign of respect for his work, and he is said to want Morata at the helm following his impressive two-year spell at Juventus between 2014 and 2016.

Morata had initially been tipped to join English giants Manchester United, but that move is off the cards after the Red Devils decided to sign Romelu Lukaku from Everton for an undisclosed fee. Real Madrid are deemed to have placed a hefty £78m price on Morata’s head, and this proved too much for United, who opted to recruit a Premier League campaigner in Lukaku.

The Los Blancos graduate is not keen on a switch to England anymore, and Milan could emerge as the favourites, should they step up their pursuit in the coming weeks. Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Torino’s Andrea Belotti are also regarded as options to bolster the frontline, and the Rossoneri are likely to quicken their pursuit as they have quite often done in the transfer window.

Image – Getty