Fulham’s scouts have run the rule over AC Milan midfielder Ismaël Bennacer at the African Cup of Nations this week, according to the Daily Mirror.
The Algerian defensive midfielder has made just five Serie A appearances for Milan this summer and could be open to a move that would deliver more regular football. The 26 year-old spent two seasons with Arsenal at the start of his career but didn’t feature in a senior game for the Gunners, moving to Empoli after a successful spell at Ligue 2 outfit Tours. Bennacer starred as Empoli won the Serie B title and established himself as one of the top holding midfielders on the continent despite their relegation the following year.
He joined Milan in 2019, helping them finish second the following season and lift the Scudetto in 2022. Knee surgery restricted his appearances in 2022/23, but he is now fully fit and played eighty minutes of Algeria’s 1-1 draw with Angola on Monday. Bennacer has won 46 caps for his country and was voted player of the tournament in the last African Cup of Nations as Algeria beat Senegal in the final to win their first title in 29 years. The midfielder set up the winning goal for Baghdad Bounedjah.
We don’t need another mid fielder if Palhinha stays
we will if Lukic goes, which has been the rumour. we have 3 midfield spots, with Perreira, Cairney, Lukic, Reed and Palinha to cover…. it wouldn’t hurt to have someone else come in
Even if Joao stays, we definitely do need more midfield cover. He will miss games, if not through injury then definitely through suspension. Andreas and TC are not the same type of player, so they do not count as cover. If you’ve got a game where you want to pair two defensive central midfielders as cover for the backline, like we did away at Liverpool, and Joao is injured or suspended, you’ve got to play Lukic and Reed as there’s no one else. Then your bench option to cover them in the event of injury is… what, Francois and that’s it? Just like centre backs, you should be having four first team players in the squad for that position; we’ve got three.
And that’s before you even consider that we might let Lukic go out on loan, or simply want to upgrade on Lukic or Reed.