Chelsea and Manchester City set for £50m battle for Serie A star

Chelsea and Manchester City are set to go head-to-head in January in a bid to land Italy international defender Leonardo Bonucci, according to the Daily Star.

The Premier League sides, who currently sit eighth and first in the English top-flight standings after their first six league games of the 2016/17 campaign, were both linked with the Juventus centre-half during this year’s summer transfer window.

Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

The 29-year-old, who has 63 international caps for his country and starred for Italy at the 2016 European Championships in France earlier this summer, has featured five times for the defending Serie A champions in all competitions so far this season.

Bonucci, who scored three goals and provided two assists in 49 games in all competitions for Juve last term, is wanted by managers Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola to strengthen their respective new side’s defensive ranks during the January window ahead of the second-half of the current campaign.

The report suggests that the Italian is rated at around £50m.