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Medhi Benatia has successfully completed a switch away from the Allianz Arena after agreeing personal terms with the Italian champions Juventus.

The loan spell - which cost £2.5 million- will be for the entire season with the additional option of a permanent transfer for £14.3 million over the next two years.

The Moroccan makes his first return to Italy having had a spell at Udinese and AS Roma between 2010 and 2014.

 

Early life

Born Medhi Amine Benatia El Mouttaqi on 17 April 2024 in Courcouronnes, France, he spent his youthful career at Clairefontaine and Guingamp before finally settling in Marseille in 2003.

Benatia would spend the next two years climbing through the ranks before finally gaining promotion into the senior team in 2005.

His impact in the team was however never felt and as such, a series of loan spells in the first and second division of the French Ligue ensued.

A change of fortune may have come in 2010 when he returned to Serie A, this time for Udinese, but the real turnaround was in 2014 when he was signed by Bayern after having a career changing season at Roma.

 

Will it prove to be another steal by Juventus?

More often than not there have been discussions on how Bayern Munich ruthlessly dominates the Bundesliga, but the one team that has been massively under-looked is Juventus.

The Old Lady has with inexorable efficiency walked the Italian league by setting a new record of successively winning the Scudetto in the last five years.

Furthermore, Juventus attained a milestone by winning their 32nd title last season- the joint highest [alongside Real Madrid] in the top five Leagues in Europe.

 

Knack for rejuvenating struggling players

Juventus have made a name for themselves by signing players who are seemingly past their peaks, then transforming them into world class players by rejuvenating their best years.

The Italians notoriously signed a peaked Patrice Evra from Manchester United in 2014, but the then 33-year old went on to play in both the Champions League and European Championship Final.

Mario Mandzukic and Sami Khedira joined the club last season and this summer won’t be any different as the Old Lady has already completed the signing of Dani Alves from Barcelona - albeit on a free transfer.

Playing alongside a veteran like Leonardo Bonucci at the back, Medhi Benatia will without fear of contradiction excel at Juventus.

 

Written by Brian Humphrey

Follow Brian on Twitter @brihum

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