Manchester United join City, PSG in Ismael Bennacer pursuit
According to a report from Algerian outlet Competition (h/t Daily Mail), Manchester United have joined rivals Manchester City and PSG in the race to sign AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer.
The 22-year-old Bennacer came through the youth ranks at French club AC Arles, before making the jump to our rivals Arsenal. However, he could not break into the first-team. After a loan spell to Tours, he moved to Italy, joining Empoli in 2017.
In his first season at the club, Bennacer helped them to promotion to Serie A and continued in the same vein of form in 2018/19. This prompted AC Milan to snap him up last summer. Since joining the Rossoneri, the Algerian has been one of their best players this season.
Capable of playing in a multitude of roles in central midfield, Bennacer has largely been used in a double-pivot alongside Franck Kessie and he has excelled. This has led to interest in him from the likes of Manchester City and PSG. (h/t Daily Mail)
And now, Manchester United, too, have joined in the pursuit of the Algerian international. (h/t Daily Mail)
As things stand, we have a well-oiled midfield department. Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba are excelling, Nemanja Matic has found a second wind in his career, while Fred and Scott McTominay have been very impressive as well.
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However, we must consider that Matic is already 31 and will soon be needed to phase out of the team once he reaches the end of his career. So bringing in a long-term replacement in the form of Bennacer would be a smart move.
The Algerian midfielder is expected to cost around £45m, which shouldn’t be much of a problem for the club.
