Leonardo Bonucci Ticks Every Box in Chelsea's Top-Class Centre-Back Search

We've heard it all before in western movies. "This town ain't big enough for the both of us" is the line oft-quoted from one outlaw to the other.

A gunfight ensues, leaving the fastest on the trigger as the last man standing and top dog in town.

With the shenanigans at Stamford Bridge in the past decade, west London hasn't been much different from a frontier town in the worlds of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah. We've seen power struggles and symbolic gun-slinging, with the body count high.

Club directors, players and fans have been seen cowering behind drawn curtains, taking a peek through their windows if they dare to see what damage is being done by the latest controversy, protecting themselves from the fallout.

Managers have been the biggest casualties. Nine different men have sat in the hot seat at the last count, and Antonio Conte is now on the horizon, riding into town to round it off to an equal 10.

If owner Roman Abramovich has been the sheriff deciding on their fate, John Terry has certainly been his deputy. The pair, in one form or another, have been Chelsea's power brokers. Abramovich wields the axe, while Terry dictates proceedings from the pitch in his position as captain.

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Terry's power is on the wane now, though. He's 35, and with few lieutenants around him to offer the support of old, the winds of change are blowing in at Stamford Bridge.

Abramovich needs a new enforcer who can get the club on the up again.

News of Leonardo Bonucci's imminent arrival is diluting Terry's influence ever more. According to the Sun's Antony Kastrinakis, the Blues are willing to pay up to £32 million after the European Championship to pair the Italian up with Conte, his national team manager and former boss at Juventus.

It's the sort of move that can't come quickly enough for Chelsea. Conte needs to add some big characters to his team this summer, and Bonucci isn't just a trusted ally—he's one of Europe's finest defenders.

Terry can still play his part in the rebuild that will happen, but the shift in power at Chelsea isn't going to come about with a Colt .45 this time. Age and timing dictate that Terry will have to step aside, as this is a battle he can no longer win.

For so long, Chelsea have relied on Terry to be their lynchpin. He's propped the club up through their darkest times, and now they need something different to take them forward. He's the last bastion for what Chelsea were, whereas a player like Bonucci is a symbol for what they can become.

Because of his status, Abramovich and his advisers have never challenged Terry's authority as a player. Multiple defenders have been signed to complement the captain—not replace him.

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In truth, there haven't been many in the past who could have rivalled his ability at centre-back, either, yet now time has evolved.

The requirement is the same for Conte as it was Jose Mourinho, Luis Felipe Scolari, Avram Grant, Carlo Ancelotti and all the others. He needs defensive solidity to be successful, although it's going to come about in a different way.

While Terry offers the bulldog, Anglo-Saxon spirit combined with his ability as a footballer, Conte's system doesn't suit him. If the Italian revamps Chelsea with his own 3-5-2, then Terry is toast as a first-team regular.

Chelsea need something and someone different. They need Bonucci.

The Italian ticks every box in terms of what the Blues are looking for. Regardless of his relationship with Conte, he plays at the heart of defence and marshals it in the way Terry has done. He is excellent in possession and reads the game with a level of expertise that comes at a premium in the modern game.

The key is his positioning. It's not by luck or coincidence that Bonucci seems to find himself so often in the right place at the right time. He puts himself there on instinct, sniffing out danger.

To use recent examples, Italy's 2-0 victory over Belgium in the opening round of games at Euro 2016 was as much about him as it was the goals from Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle. Indeed, just watch the replays of Bonucci's through ball for Giaccherini to open the scoring to get a hint of his ability as a footballer.

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That chipped pass, from the Azzurri's halfway line into Belgium's box, was sublime. Such was the pinpoint accuracy of it, the ball blunted the spikes of Toby Alderweireld's hair before falling into Giaccherini's path to put Italy ahead.

If that was the champagne moment, Bonucci's all-round game that night was what provided the fizz. Belgium struggled to get through the Italian back line because of his performance. We saw something similar with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was made to appear human against Italy on Matchday 2.

For Juventus fans, it's what they're used to. This summer, Bonucci is reminding the rest of Europe just how capable he is.

Conte doesn't need to add too many star names to his Chelsea squad this summer. He needs to bulk the Blues up with some able talent to give them a depth that has long been missing.

Defence is where the drastic surgery is needed, though. He needs a player who can make an instant impact and settle down the panic after Chelsea recorded their worst defensive record in over 20 years last season.

Bonucci is very clearly the man in that search.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.