Leonardo Bonucci is expected to terminate his contract with Union Berlin on Tuesday and will likely travel to Istanbul the same day or the following morning to complete a move to Turkish Super Lig giants Fenerbahce.
Recent reports from Calciomercato.com claim that former Inter and Roma striker Edin Dzeko played a crucial role in convincing Bonucci to join Fenerbahce.
Bonucci joined Union on a free transfer in the summer, having left Juventus as a free agent after a 12 seasons split across two spells with a year at Milan sandwiched in-between.
Bonucci’s time in the Bundesliga hasn’t quite gone to plan, as the 36-year-old has been called upon just 10 times in all competitions, seven in the league and three in the Champions League.
One of Bonucci’s final ambitions as a player is to make the Italy national team squad for Euro 2024, which is unlikely to happen without a run of consistent matches in the months leading up to the tournament.
For that reason, he has been pushing for a move in January, but will need to terminate his deal with Union in order to make himself available as a free agent.
Fenerbahce became interested and, largely in thanks to a phone call involving Bonucci, Dzeko and their agents, the former Juve man is set to move to Turkey.
Calciomercato reports that Bonucci has also received confirmation from national team CT Luciano Spalletti that Fenerbahce’s level is suitable enough to be considered for a call-up to the Azzurri.
That is not a guarantee that Bonucci will be involved at the Euros, but if he plays well enough and consistently enough before the end of 2023-24, a place in the summer squad is not out of the question.