Manchester City eye former Arsenal youth

Kolkata, June 5: If reports in England are to be believed, Manchester City are looking to strengthen their squad this summer and are plotting a £44.7 million bid for AC Milan star Ismael Bennacer.

The Algerian international was on the books of Arsenal for a couple of years early in his career, but failed to make the grade at the Emirates back then but since he moved to Italy, he has been earning plenty of attention from Europe's elites such as Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and now Manchester City.

With the Cityzens set to lose their grasp on the Premier League title to Liverpool this season, Pep Guardiola was always expected to strengthen his squad significantly in the summer and with skipper David Silva set to depart the Etihad, a new play-maker is evidently something the former Barcelona and Bayern boss is looking for.

Here, we take a detailed look at the 22-year-old.

Style of play

Bennacer has everything Guardiola looks to have in his midfielders. He is indeed a pretty complete midfielder who is capable of playing across multiple positions and roles in the middle of the park. During his time at Empoli, the 22-year-old was mostly used at the base of the midfield but not in a destroyer kind of role but more of a creative one like Miralem Pjanic or Andrea Pirlo. His awareness on the pitch, ability to work hard for the team and exceptional eye for a pass makes him capable of coming out on top no matter where he is deployed.

The number game

Though he plays for a struggling Milan side that is seventh in Serie A right now and once again looks likely to finish outside top five, Bennacer has come up with impressive numbers.

He has averaged 2.4 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 0.5 blocks per game this season which shows that he provides an excellent cover to his backline.

True strengths

The Algerian has played an average of 55.4 per cent passes per game with an accuracy of 86.4. He has managed 0.8 key passes and 3.3 long balls per game for Milan this season which is truly impressive. He looks to have everything Guardiola looks for in his midfielder players and looks like a very solid long-term replacement of David Silva.