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Juventus’ now-anticipated singing of Matthijs de Ligt was bound to have some kind of domino effect when it comes to how the squad’s depth chart at center back is constructed.
Apparently Paris Saint-Germain is looking to take advantage of that.
PSG’s new sporting director Leonardo has been in contact with the representatives for Juventus center back Leonardo Bonucci, it has been reported in Italy over the last 24 hours. Yes, the same Leonardo who was the one who worked out the deal last summer that saw a want-away Bonucci return to Turin away his year away with AC Milan.
Contatti in giornata tra il #PSG e l’entourage di #Bonucci. Per ora un semplice sondaggio @GoalItalia
— Romeo Agresti (@romeoagresti) June 28, 2019
Since Agresti originally had the scoop, a good number of Italian media outlets have swooped in with their own Bonucci-PSG kind of reporting. The likes of La Gazzetta dello Sport and SportMediaset, with the latter suggesting that Leonardo — just like he did the last time he was in charge of PSG — will raid Serie A and also try to sign Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic along with Bonucci.
Obviously, the contact from PSG’s end is an opportunity to try and see where Bonucci stands with the imminent arrival of one of the best young central defenders the world currently has to offer in de Ligt. And although we don’t exactly know much about how Maurizio Sarri is going to rotate his squad — if at all based on previous iterations — it’s not like Juventus are going to be spending upwards of €70 million on de Ligt just to have him come in and be a part-time player.
Where that leaves Bonucci remains to be seen. We know Giorgio Chiellini can’t be counted on to play upwards of 40 or 45 games a season based on his age and recent injury history over the last couple of years. But would de Ligt be technically the third-choice center back after Chiellini and Bonucci but constantly filling in for one of them? Who knows.
Either way, PSG might see an opportunity if Bonucci thinks his starting spot is in jeopardy — and they’ve started to make contacts with the 32-year-old’s representatives because of it.