Fulham should hijack Arsenal’s move for Medhi Benatia
According to the Daily Star, Arsenal are considering a mid-season swoop for Juventus’s Moroccan centre-back Medhi Benatia.
The same reports claim that the 31-year-old is unhappy at Turin after struggling to cement a regular first-team spot under Max Allegri.
The Moroccan international had stints with Serie A clubs Roma and Udinese before shifting bases to the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 2014. However, he did not get enough regular minutes as he would have liked and moved back to the Serie A with Juventus a couple of years back.
Benatia has started only five games for the Italian giants in the Serie A this season and has featured once in the UEFA Champions League. He has found himself in and out of the first team with the manager favouring the centre-back pairing of Leonardo Bonucci and Georgio Chiellini.
To be honest, Benatia has all the attributes to excel in the Premier League. Standing at 6ft. 2 inches, the 31-year-old is capable of dominating the opposition with his physicality and aerial ability. He is also a good reader of the game at the back and tends to anticipate situations faster than his offensive counterparts.
Blessed with a sound technique, Benatia is capable of operating as a ball-playing centre-back and is immaculate with his passing. Not only is he very comfortable with the ball at his feet but he also likes to set up attacks from the back with accurate long passes. In fact, he has averaged 63.4 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 90.5 this season.
To go with his positional sense, ball-playing abilities, aerial prowess and physicality, Benatia is also a very good tackler. The 31-year-old Moroccan international is quite fast and agile for a centre-back of his age and does not hesitate to stick his foot out when needed.
Benatia averages 1.4 tackles, 3.2 interceptions and 3.4 clearances per game this season, figures which speak volumes of his calibre as a centre-back. Furthermore, he is someone who can make a difference to the team with his leadership qualities, organising and coordinating his defensive counterparts at the back.
To put things into perspective, Fulham should look to hijack Medhi Benatia amidst interest from the Gunners. Manager Slavisa Jokanovic lost the confidence of the board and was sacked after a series of unimpressive results. As things stand, Claudio Ranieri has been appointed as the steward of a sinking ship and the onus will be on the Italian to turn defeats into victories.
As much as Fulham have promised in terms of attack this season, the Cottagers have looked extremely vulnerable at the back. Having already shipped 31 goals so far, Fulham have the worst defensive record in the Premier League.
Quite clearly, they need a top-quality centre-back to bolster the backline in January and the Cottagers have been linked with centre-backs like Matteo Musacchio (Mirror) and Joel Matip (Bleacher report) in recent times. However, none of them ticks all the boxes as Medhi Benatia does.
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Suffice to say, Benatia has the ability to change the whole complexion of Fulham’s backline that has leaked goals at an alarming rate.
And the fact that he might be available for a cut-price deal in January should make it all the more interesting for the Cottagers. He might well prove to be the difference between survival and relegation.
