Last season, Ismael Bennacer struggled for several reasons, and while there were elements of the player that shone before his injury, issues were present. This summer, AC Milan and the Algerian will have a decision to make.
Coming back from an injury like Bennacer’s is never easy. Of course, the main aspects of the injury were physical, but there is also an undeniable mental battle that players face after spending so long sidelined.
Then there is the big issue, the recurring problems. Since the return at the end of 2023, the midfielder has been sidelined a few times, nothing major, but enough to create a quiet concern about whether his body can return to the same levels it previously provided.
Now, this is not a question of talent, something which Bennacer has in bag fulls, and we know this, but rather, can Milan afford to gamble on his injuries when an offer is potentially staring them in the face?
During the weekend, a report suggested a four-hour summit was held with an interested party, and the meeting was ‘more than an enquiry’. This morning, a new report from Calciomercato.com suggests that Bennacer is ‘tempted’ by a move to Arabia.
He sees the move as a chance for ‘redemption’, something he is desperate for, and with the financials to make the club and player happy, it is a move to keep an eye on over the next few months.
I guess we’ll soon understand the real ambitions of that management. Bennacer is the only midfield in the team that already showed he can play at a top level. All the others are still gambles, they could improve or could stagnate, none of Loftus-Cheek, Reijnders, Musah, Adli evidenced they could be top players. Bennacer still has two years in his contract, give him one chance to show that he can come back at his best level and if not, sell him next summer. But it seems that money is the top, top priority.
If the top priority is to win why gamble on the fitness of your midfield lynchpin? If he has another season where he misses 8 weeks and we drop some points as a result, it will have been a failed experiment. Isn’t it more sensible from a footballing perspective to sell him and buy a player who you can reasonably expect to give you more time on the field?
If the top priority is to win, you don’t sell the only midfielder in the roster that has shown evidence of being a top player and that was important during the Scudetto season. It’s absolutely not a certainty that he couldn’t come back to his previous level after a normal preseason or that he’ll get injured again, especially since the focus should be on avoiding the many injuries the team had last season.
You can still sell him next summer if he can’t find his form. They would sell him for less but what is the priority? Money or winning? All the other midfielders in the roster are no certainties. They have potential but that’s it, they didn’t show it and there is no certainty that they can reach the expected level. Same thing for potential recruits, unless we go for top midfielders like Rabiot.
So right now I’m waiting to see how the management will handle this mercato but all the reports, all the statements and the fact that they hired Paulo Fonseca don’t evidence that winning is the priority.
Benny hasn’t had a good season since the Scudetto. You need to set sentiment aside and make sensible choices. 50m for a player who hasn’t showed his best in two seasons and is injury prone? Take it and run.
That is absolutely not true. Maybe your own opinion but it’s absolutely not a fact. Bennacer was paramount in the midfield during the 2022/23 season, when the team went to UCL semi-finals remember, and he got injured at the very beginning of the first leg of these semi-finals against Inter, where Milan was also missing Leao.
You made my point beautifully. In 22/23 he played in 38 matches in all comps, had as many yellows as goal contributions, and went down injured in the pivotal game of the season. We can do better…
Yellow cards? How is that a relevant stat? Did you ever play football? How many yellow cards Gattuso received during his career? I know Milan fans are obsessed with the budget but Milan can afford to pay the fines for yellow cards haha
Anyway we’ll never agree, it’s absolute nonsense to me that football fans can be so obsessed with money, budget and speculation but I respect the diversity of opinions. Let’s see if the management will bring top players this summer to strengthen the team or try to gamble again in the sake of sustainability and ROI.
More time on the field but with less quality.. yall always cry about a what if scenarios and ofc focus on a negative one. What if he doesn’t get injured and plays like a midfielder of the highest quality? And then does it again next season. And again. And again.. for the next 6-7 years?
Isn’t it more sensible to get your player to their best so they can deliver rather than sell and buy a new one and rinse repeat every second summer?
That’s true but all we can go by is recent results. Last season was a forgettable one given his form. Also, the fact that we haven’t had a proper DM to help him hasn’t helped things.
With proper reinforcement I would give Benny another season to see if we get his best back.
He is at top level thats why only an Arab team interested in him
And what teams are interested in Loftus-Cheek, Reijnders, Musah or Adli?
You really can’t judge the mercato until the season is in swing. Reijnders played over 50 games last season, a number Benny never approached. The reality is Benny is good, maybe very good. But can we find a better midfielder for 40-50m than him? There’s no question about that.
Yeah I agree and I’ll wait until the end of the summer but the reports and the new coach are not encouraging signs of improvement or will of winning. Last summer the number one priority was a striker and it’s been a huge struggle. Despite 10 recruits and more than 100M spent last summer, the results were barely an improvement in Serie A (+5 pts and 2nd place is UCL qualification as 4th place) while in Europe it’s been terrible.
I know Reijnders is highly valued around here but I advice you to watch his highlights from last season or at the Euro and he’s far from Bennacer at his peak. Reijnders is bad at defending and if we consider him an offensive midfielder he has a shot on target probability close to 0. He was benched by Adli at some point, who had better highlights (that magical assist) in way less playing time. And Adli is pretty average.
If we can find a better mid than Benny for €40m then why would someone want Benny?
It is not so easy as the players we want are not commodities they are rarities.
On the flip side, he had a horrible injury and struggled for fitness all season. As Barts suggests, he needs time.
But, when he came back he had to be 15lbs heavier. At the elite level that is a big red flag as it speaks to a lack of could on being fully ready. In top flight it’s not enough to, “run it off in the early part of the season.”
So if Benny appears at the first day of camp trim and focused I would rather.mot.see him leave. If he shows with up soft then I consider.the money.
Bennacer is too inconsistent. Most games he looked like a child in midfield and Adli had to come on to stabilize the midfield. I’ll repeat myself: Adli had to come in and cover for Bennacer. That says it all. Adli is not even a natural DM but he still provided more grinta in midfield. If any club is willing to pay 30+ million for Bennacer I’ll pack his bags
that never happened. In fact once Benny got back from injury Adli game time took a drastic drop
Reijnders hasn’t proven he COULD be top level? What are you on about?
If a Saudi club offers 50M+ for him, you take it. That’s both good business and what is needed to elevate the midfield with better players.
Take the money you are offered for Bennacer and run before they change their minds.
If Bennacer was so good teams from Europe will be lining up to buy him. Only interest comes from a start up league.
He is at best a bench player who you can’t count on to be available week in week out.
To be fair, we’re not seeing top teams lining up for our best players who are world-class, let alone Bennacer who is perhaps injury prone and might or might not get back to his top level. Also top teams are top teams because they have a solid, functionning midfield with better players than Bennacer or which doesn’t need Bennacer to improve.
I’m not against selling him for north of 40M€ though because it can help us in our quest for a DM and a striker but that’s mostly because of his injuries issues. But bear in mind that selling him means losing our last midfielder from the scudetto season and also, more importantly, since we won’t ANY midfielder who can actually defend anymore (neither Reijnders, RLC, Musah or Adli can defend properly), we will need not one but two midfielders who can defend.
If you read it again, it doesn’t say anywhere in my comment TOP teams. I said: if Bennacer was so good, teams from Europe would be lining up to buy him.
Last midfielder from the scudetto season? Bennacer was a bench player and played as many minutes during the scudetto season as Krunic. As I said, he is at best a bench player.
Bennacer, the only midfielder that can defend? Bennacer can press but as a defender he is not good. If he was good as a defender he wouldn’t have lost his spot in the lineup last year to Krunic. Milan defense got actually better when Bennacer got injured in February and Krunic was inserted in the lineup. Milan beat Tottenham without Bennacer and then Bennacer was played as a 10.
Bennacer being good defensively is nothing but a myth. Kessie made them all look good.
I never said that he is good defensively, but at least, he can perform some defensives duties and in a midfield where no one seems to be able to do that, you should take it into account before selling him. You can’t just have one DM and a team full of front runners with 0 defensive capabilities
If we still had Kessie or a Kessie-alike and Krunic we won’t be having this conversation. Krunic could also defend (although he wasn’t exactly stellar either).
In both scudetto season and the 2022/23 season, Bennacer played slightly more minutes than Krunic and started as often and that despite his injury since may. I know Pioli prefered the later in the later part of the season, but we all know Pioli’s love for Krunic.
Anyways, if you want to sell Bennacer (which again I don’t necessarly disagree with because of fitness issues), you’ll need 2 of the midfielders we’re supposedly linked with.
If we receive offer of 5ml for bennacer we should accept let alone 50ml that slow injury prone midget is nothing but useless
Would prefer to sell RLC and Adli instead of Bennacer, and use the money to sign Ricci as regista. Bennacer (LCM), Reijnders (RCM) and Ricci could form an interesting 3-men midfield.
Bennacer shouldn’t be judged on last year due to his injuries + Pioli poor tactics. If Saudis get close to 50m and he wants to go then not much we can do about it. Otherwise keep him and build our midfield around him & Reijnders.
I agree. Physical and psychological factors can explain his struggle in that half season coming back from a major injury, with the CAN in the middle, a new system and new players around him, and muscle problems like half the team. Give him a full preseason, fix that injury problem in the team and let’s see what he can do. Not long ago we were scared that the release clause of 50M€ would be too low…
its a pity, this guy whenever he has been on the pitch has been a difference maker. Unfortunately he seems to prioritize national commitments over getting fit. this with his injury record means he must leave.