Manchester City are keen to seal a summer swoop for AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer, with a man sold on the cheap by Arsenal potentially on his way back to the Premier League, according to FootMercato.
The Gunners could soon find out how Chelsea fans feel as Stamford Bridge reject Kevin de Bruyne inspires Pep Guardiola’s winning machine to glory again and again.
Back in the summer of 2017, Arsenal accepted a £900,000 bid from Empoli for a young Algerian whose one and only appearance under Arsene Wenger came in a 3-0 EFL Cup collapse at Sheffield Wednesday.
From such inconspicuous beginnings has emerged one of the most effective defensive midfielders in the game.
Bennacer shot to fame as the all-action, ankle-biting presence at the heart of an Algeria side who won the Africa Cup of Nations last summer, before emerging as a ray of light in another dark season for AC Milan.
Now, according to FM, a man who didn’t get the backing he deserved at the Emirates could be bound for the Etihad. Pep Guardiola has admired Bennacer from afar for quite some time now and Manchester City have apparently entered talks with his representatives regarding a return to England.
All the while, Arsenal continue to scour the market for a defensive midfielder capable of solving a problem position in Mikel Arteta’s side. If only they could turn back the clock and reverse that £900,000 decision.
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