Chelsea
Chelsea & Man Utd Handed Boost In Pursuit Of €22m Defender
Chelsea and Manchester United have been boosted in their pursuit of Medhi Benatia as Bayern Munich are ready to cash-in on the centre-back for just €22m.
As the opening of the summer transfer window approaches, managers are working hard identifying targets and lining-up potential deals so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. talkSPORT’s musings on the latest Manchester United transfer news is well worth a read, while we’ve also got the latest on Chelsea and United being linked with Medhi Benatia…
Chelsea and Manchester United have been boosted in their pursuit of Medhi Benatia as Bayern Munich are ready to cash-in on the centre-back for just €22m this summer, according to reports.
Benatia only joined Bayern a year ago when the German giants reportedly beat both Chelsea and United to his signature after paying Roma €26m (£19m) last summer.
The 28-year-old’s time at the Allianz Arena hasn’t exactly gone to plan as a mixture of fitness issues and a lack of form restricted the Moroccan international to making just 22 starts in all competitions last season.
It looks like Bayern are now ready to cut their losses and cash-in on the defender as the Express suggest that Chelsea and United have been alerted to Benatia’s availability this summer.
However, the English duo will face stiff competition for his signature as the newspaper cites reports coming out of Italy that claim Inter Milan are already in talks over a potential €22m (£16m) deal to take Benatia back to Serie A.
It’s also reported that Pep Guardiola has already identified Aymen Abdennour as his replacement and Bayern are now pushing ahead with plans to sign the Tunisian international from Monaco, so it certainly appears that Benatia is on his way out this summer.
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Chelsea need to find a long-term replacement for 34-year-old John Terry while Louis van Gaal is also on the look out for a top class central defender as he tries to build a squad capable of challenging for the title next season.
Benatia would be an experienced option for the duo and the reported €22m asking price would also be an excellent deal in today’s market. We’ll have to wait and see whether Mourinho or van Gaal decide to formalise their interest, but they’ll have to act fast with Inter already believed to be in negotiations.
