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Real Madrid, PSG and Man City target Bennacer assessed
David Lynch
- Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
- 2 min read
Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer is starting to attract interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
The 22-year-old, who previously made one senior appearance for Arsenal during a two-year stint in the club’s academy, has gone from strength to strength since his 2019 move from Empoli.
According to reports, the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and PSG are all big admirers of the player.
And, with a release clause of €50m reportedly set to become active next summer, the battle for his signature is just getting started.
But what have these European heavyweights seen in the French-born Algeria international?
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Despite his relative inexperience, Bennacer is already one of the best-performing defensive midfielders in Serie A.
His average of 8.8 recoveries P90 places him second only to Udinese’s Tolgay Arslan among players in his position who have clocked up 400 minutes or more this season.
Bennacer has also won 60% of his duels thus far this term, a figure beaten only by his Milan teammate Franck Kessie.
He is not just a destroyer, either, with a pass completion rate of 88% and average of 64.1 passes P90 placing him among the league’s elite.
His 79.9 touches P90 is the fourth highest among defensive midfielders with more than 400 minutes, showing that he is more than comfortable seeing plenty of the ball.
With numbers like this behind him, it is easy to see why interest in Bennacer is so high – and why Milan will already be concerned about what might happen next summer.
