When Pep Guardiola first arrived at Manchester City, one of the big stories in Italy was his attempts to try and lure Leonardo Bonucci, widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the world, away from Juventus.

At the club since 2010 when he joined from Bari for £13.2m, the 29-year-old is part of the famous BBC defence alongside his international teammates Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli.

The emergence of Daniele Rugani at the club certainly hasn’t helped the rumours, with many feeling losing one of the three wouldn’t be the end of the world with a ready made replacement already in the squad.

Nearly a year later, and the stories surrounding a move to the Etihad for the Juventus centre-back are still circulating, especially after Guardiola publicly praised Bonucci.

Speaking to So Foot in this month’s edition of the French magazine, the player admitted he was quite happy at the praise.

He said: “When the best manager in the world says you’re one of his favourite players, you act like it’s nothing, but you still can’t help but have a smile on your lips. This praise only confirms my important progress. It’s always nice.”

As for a move to England in the near future, Bonucci certainly isn’t against it, especially since he has a soft spot for the Premier League.

He explained: “It fascinates me. When I can, I watch English games, and not only for the quality of the players on display. I’m hot-headed, and I love the passion that exudes from their packed stands. It’s for that kind of thing that I’m the first on the training pitch and the last to return the changing room.”

Signing a new contract with Juventus keeping him in Turin until 2021, any transfer in the summer would cost a pretty penny, but if there’s one club capable of convincing the Serie A champions to sell in the summer, it’s Manchester City.

If the offer is too good to refuse, they will sell. Just look at Paul Pogba’s transfer last summer.