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Chelsea transfer news: Leonardo Bonucci will be the focus of a world record £60m bid for a defender from Antonio Conte in January

Roman Abramovich has given the Italian boss the green light to sign his dream defender after a slow start to the Premier League season

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LEONARDO BONUCCI will be the subject of a £60million bid from Chelsea in January after Roman Abramovich gave Italian boss Antonio Conte the go-ahead to land his dream defender.

Despite having £30m summer signing David Luiz back to compete with John Terry and Gary Cahill for a place in the heart of the Stamford Bridge defence, claims the Blues are ready to break the world-record fee for a defender by landing the Juventus star.

 Leonardo Bonucci is currently on international duty with Italy as speculation on his future picks up
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Leonardo Bonucci is currently on international duty with Italy as speculation on his future picks upCredit: EPA
 The Italy and Juventus defender is wanted by Manchester City and the Blues
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The Italy and Juventus defender is wanted by Manchester City and the BluesCredit: Getty Images

The Russian billionaire spent extra hours at the club’s Cobham training base during their Premier League dip in the second-half of September when they suffered defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal, after a draw with Swansea.

The first game of October returned a win and a cleansheet against Hull but the west London side is still eager to add some steel into their backline with the signing of the Italy international who is also one of Man City boss Pep Guardiola’s favourite players.

The centre-back worked with Conte for three years while at Juve together and carried on their relationship with the national side until the high-octane boss move to the Premier League in the summer.

 Juventus reportedly rejected bid from Manchester City for Bonucci in the summer
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Juventus reportedly rejected bid from Manchester City for Bonucci in the summerCredit: PA:Press Association
 Juve have sold a selection of high-priced players in recent seasons with Paul Pogba top of the pile
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Juve have sold a selection of high-priced players in recent seasons with Paul Pogba top of the pileCredit: AP:Associated Press

Bonucci sees his old mentor as one of the best managers in the world and revealed his respect-commanding record earned him a great nickname with the Azzurri.

He said: “Conte will be a big success in England, Chelsea are already a very good team and he will have them challenging both in England and in Europe.

“He is the boss, and if you listen to him and show him respect, you will see he is one of the best bosses in the game.

“The players in the Italy team nicknamed him The Godfather. That means when he talks, you listen. You do what he says and you don’t argue. Players want to listen, though.”


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