Chelsea are readying a £30m bid for Benatia having already submitted an enquiry and Manchester United are also keen on the defender.
The Blues’ bid for the Moroccan is likely to be accepted by Roma as it meets their valuation of the player and Louis van Gaal could follow suit as he is getting increasingly desperate for defenders to fit his 3-5-2 formation.
Benatia’s likely departure has left the Serie A club scrambling for replacements and Tottenham defender Vlad Chiriches is one player they have their eye on.
Chiriches had an inconsistent first season at White Hart Lane and Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is understood to be willing to let him go following the signing of Eric Dier from Sporting Lisbon.
Roma coach Rudi Garcia is also targeting Lille’s 31-year-old defender Marko Basa and Arsenal target Kostas Manolas.
27-year-old Benatia has spent one season at Roma after signing from Udinese for nearly £11m last summer.
He made 33 appearances to help the Italian capital club to second place in Serie A.
Written by Steve Milne
