Leonardo Bonucci is inching closer to his Serie A return, as Roma are advancing in the negotiation to add him from Union Berlin. José Mourinho has signed off on the acquisition. The Giallorossi just need to come to terms with the player because the Bundesliga side is willing to simply release him, La Repubblica informs.
The parties are in talks, and his salary isn’t particularly high. He makes €2M per year. Juventus have partially contributed to it through a severance package. The capital club would like to seal the deal early to make up for Chris Smalling’s injury. Even though he often hinted at retirement, his contract might include an option for another season.
The Roma locker room, which features a few Italian players and Paulo Dybala, has greenlighted the arrival of Bonucci. Instead, their fans are against it and are voicing their malcontent online because he was a stalwart of their bitterest rivals.
Since the Giallorossi wouldn’t need to spend much for the veteran, his acquisition wouldn’t rule out the purchase of a younger defender, and Oumar Solet is one of the possible candidates. The 36-year-old has featured just ten times with Union Berlin so far this season. He hasn’t started in their last six matches.
Our Take on Roma and Bonucci
They constantly need to thread the needle given their financial limitations. They could do worse in terms of stopgaps, but it’d be much better if they onboarded a promising prospect on top of him.
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