Rumour Has It: Chelsea and Liverpool monitor Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer

Bennacer,
24,
spent
time
at
Arsenal’s
academy
before
heading
to
Empoli,
where
he
impressed
enough
to
earn
a
€16million
move
to
Milan
in
2019.

He
already
has
42
international
caps
for
Algeria
after
debuting
as
an
18-year-old,
and
he
has
started
in
seven
of
Milan’s
eight
Serie
A
fixtures
to
begin
this
campaign,
but
his
contract
situation
could
accelerate
his
exit
from
Italy.

TOP
STORY
–
PREMIER
LEAGUE
HEAVYWEIGHTS
CIRCLE
BENNACER

Bennacer’s
contract
expires
in
2024,
at
the
end
of
next
season,
but
the
more
time
that
passes
before
signing
an
extension,
the
more
pressure
Milan
will
be
under
to
cash
in
as
opposed
to
letting
him
leave
for
free.

According
to
Calciomercato,
Milan
value
him
at
€50million
as

Chelsea,

Liverpool
and
Serie
A
rivals

Juventus
all
keep
a
close
eye
on
his
progress.

The
report
says
to
pry
him
away
from
Milan
in
January
would
take
a
“sensational
offer”,
but
if
Milan
decide
to
see
out
the
rest
of
the
season
their
leverage
in
negotiations
will
be
significantly
weakened.

Both
Bennacer
and
team-mate
Rafael
Leao
have
high
levels
of
interest
from
elite
clubs,
and
Milan
will
likely
not
have
the
budget
to
hand
out
two
big
extensions.

ROUND-UP

–
The
Telegraph
is
reporting

Manchester
United
will
not
stand
in

Cristiano
Ronaldo‘s
way
if
he
wishes
to
leave
in
January.

–
According
to
the
Daily
Mail,

Chelsea
are
interested
in
signing
Arsenal’s

Gabriel
Martinelli.

–
90min
is
reporting

Chelsea
are
also
trying
to
push
RB
Leipzig
into
accepting
deals
for
centre-back

Josko
Gvardiol
and
forward

Christopher
Nkunku
as
soon
as
possible.

–

Paris
Saint-Germain
are
hopeful
of
getting

Lionel
Messi
to
agree
to
a
new
contract
with
his
deal
set
to
expire
at
the
end
of
this
season,
although
they
will
hold
off
on
negotiations
until
after
the
World
Cup,
per
Mundo
Deportivo.

–
January
will
mark
18
months
remaining
on

Sergej
Milinkovic-Savic‘s
contract
with
Lazio,
and
according
to
Gazzetta
dello
Sport,
Italy’s
top
clubs
are
all
keeping
a
close
eye
on
the
27-year-old’s
availability.