Juventus sign Mehdi Benatia on a four-year deal

Mehdi Benatia has signed a permanent deal with Juventus after his loan stint from Bayern Munich

According to Sky Sports, the Moroccan defender has signed a contract that will keep him at Juventus for three more years after the club exercised the option to buy him for £14million. He has been playing for Juventus on a £2.5 million season-long loan from Bayern Munich, making 18 appearances.

Benatia spoke about his decision to stay, "Since I arrived I've always expressed my desire to stay at Juventus and I hope our future is filled with successes,"

Benatia impressively came through the youth systems at Marseille before moving to Roma and was signed by Bayern Munich for £22 million in the summer of 2014. However, he struggled to compete with the likes of Matt Hummels and Jerome Boateng and found himself playing second fiddle to the pair for the majority of his time at the Allianz Arena. 

This prompted Juventus to strike a loan deal with the German champions for the defender and along with Dani Alves, Massimiliano Allegri was able to bring in two experienced defenders to the side.   

Benatia has been able to learn and grow from playing alongside a star-studded backline which includes Italian international defenders Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci. The permanent deal for the Moroccan signals a vote of confidence for him to eventually take over the role of first choice centre back from the aging centre-backs.