Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are all favourites to sign new central defenders this summer and Benatia is said to feature on all their wish lists.
Louis van Gaal is desperately short in that position after Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand both left before he took over at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger earlier this summer confirmed that he would move for a new centre-half should Thomas Vermaelen leave.
And, now the Belgian’s move to Barcelona has been completed, Benatia could be an option for the Frenchman.
Chelsea have also been linked with a move for the 27-year-old in recent days.
But Roma manager Rudi Garcia has moved to put an end to the speculation over the Moroccan’s future.
He told Sport Mediaset: “I believe Mehdi has four more years of his contract with us. He is an AS Roma player and I want people to stop talking about his future.”
Written by Steve Milne