Juventus shocked the footballing world this week by sanctioning the £35 million sale of centre-back Leonardo Bonucci to AC Milan. Bonucci has been a key pillar of a fabled backline that has driven the Bianconeri to six consecutive Serie A titles and his departure has sent shockwaves throughout the league. For the first time in years a serious title battle might be shaping up and the first few months of the 2017/18 season will be intriguing.
Juventus finished top of the pile by a comfortable distance last year and looked set to extend their dominance well into the future. Milan were all the way back in sixth, 28 points behind Juventus, and it was another disappointing season for Vincenzo Montella. But Milan are among the giants of Italian football and have an extremely prestigious history, so it was unsurprising to see them taken over by a wealthy foreign tycoon. Yonghong Li is on a mission to return AC Milan to their former glory – after Juventus, they are the second most successful club in Serie A history, and they were the last team to win it apart from Juventus, all the way back in 2010-11 – and he is spending money like it is going out of fashion.
They had already snapped up talented Porto frontman Andre Silva for €36 million, Atalanta right back Andrea Conti for €24 million, Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder and dead ball specialist Hakan Calhanoglu for €21 million, Wolfsburg left back Ricardo Rodriguez for €16.5 million, Villareal centre back Matteo Mustacchio for €16.5 million and Lazio midfielder Lucas Biglia for €16 million. That is the core of an entirely new and vastly improved team, full of quality, strength and pace, and everyone in Serie A knew how serious AC Milan were. But the signing of Bonucci dialled it up several notches. Not only are they providing a serious threaten to Juventus, they have directly weakened one the Bianconeri by signing one of their best players.
Bonucci is a titan at the back and a lynchpin for Juventus and Italy. He helped Juventus reach the Champions League final last season, but he was said to be frustrated after being denied a lucrative move to Man City last summer. Big clubs were circling this summer, but Milan stole a march by making him an impressive offer: €125,000 a week, a five year deal (great for a 30-year-old) and making him captain of a hungry and highly ambitious side. They already had plenty of top youngsters, including a great young goalkeeper, but they have now supplemented that with €182 million worth of talent, spread across the team. The other signings look great, but they will build around Bonucci, who has said he aims to swing the balance of power in Italy to Milan's favour.
Can he? How will Juventus respond? The champions have been no slouches themselves in the summer transfer window, already signing Douglas Costa, Wojciech Szczesny, Medhi Benatia and Juan Cuadrado, among others, and laying out around €65 million. They have also resisted overtures from Chelsea for Alex Sandro and Gonzalo Higuain. They still have a great defence, with Giorgio Chiellini at the heart of it, along with Andrea Barzagli, youngster Daniele Rugania and now Benatia. They have a great midfield and the two best forwards in the league: Higuain and Paulo Dybala. When you look at the strength of this Juventus team, even without Bonucci, they should still win the league comfortably. They have consistency and continuity, while Milan will take a while to gel. Inter have not landed as many targets as Milan, while Napoli and Roma are not at Juventus' level, so Milan look the greatest threat, but Juventus should still hold them off, at least for another season. Take advantage of markets using reputable betting sites, choose one with competitive odds and you will see that Juventus have gone all the way out to 4/5 to win the title. That is a fantastic price when you consider they were 3/5 not so long ago, and it is a reflection of Milan's ambition. That looks a great bet, as does Milan to secure a top two finish, which is 21/10. Napoli are rated as better than Milan by the bookies, but after signing Bonucci, Milan should push them all the way. A Juventus-Milan one-two looks a distinct possibility next season, and after that it could even reverse.