According to recent reports, last year's Premier League champions are close to signing Arles Avignon's talented young forward Ismael Bennacer, on a three-year contract deal.

The 17-year-old central attacking midfielder rejected a contract extension from Arles Avignon, who were relegated to the third division of French football last month after recording a rather disappointing 25 losses during the league season.

Bennacer is currently a player for the U18 French side, and if he'd join the youth system in Manchester, he'd benefit from playing in one of the best ever-growing academy systems at the moment. It is believed if he joins City, he'd link up with the Elite Development System team or the U-21 side, before possibly gaining experience elsewhere in the country to settle himself in the country. 

The compensation paid to Arles Avignon, would be in the region of £150,000 pounds, as he has featured for the first-team recently in the 2014-15 campaign. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Mosope Ominiyi
Writer and editor - European football analyst, youth enthusiast. Email: [email protected]