De Zerbi responds to Bennacer-Marseille links: “We all know his qualities”

Marseille head coach Roberto De Zerbi has seemingly confirmed that they are interested in signing Ismael Bennacer, but stopped short of giving much more away.

The most likely destination seemed to be Saudi Arabia for Bennacer heading into deadline day, and then it appeared that the Algerian was destined to remain with the Rossoneri, until the news arrived that teams in Europe were keen on signing him on loan.

Atletico Madrid came forward to express an interest before Diego Simeone poured cold water on things by stating that their mercato is closed, yet Marseille emerged as a late hope for the Algerian.

Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the Ligue 1 match against Toulouse, Marseille coach De Zerbi was asked about Bennacer, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

“You have to sign players only if they bring something extra. Bennacer is not an OM player so I can’t talk about it but we all know his qualities,” he said.

A few hours before the end of the market, the negotiations with Marseille seem to be a race against time. The issue seems to be Bennacer’s €4m net per season, a figure higher than any current OM player (the highest paid is Hojbjerg at €3.4m).