Juventus defender Medhi Benatia has rejected the chance to secure a move to Manchester United during the January transfer window.

According to Sportitalia via the Daily Star, United submitted an £8.6 million offer for the 31-year-old centre-back on Thursday, which he rejected outright.

The Red Devils were prepared to offer the Morrocco international £3.2 million a year in wages, but he has snubbed a Premier League switch in favour of a lucrative deal from Qatar Star League outfit Al-Duhail – as per the Daily Star.

Al-Duhail have reportedly offered Benatia a three-year contract worth a whopping £4.3 million a year and as he approaches the latter stages of his career, it appears that money is his motivation rather than extending his stay at the highest level of European football.

Benatia expressed his desire to leave Juve earlier this month, after falling way down the pecking order in the squad this season under Massimiliano Allegri, with just five Serie A appearances to his name.

Medhi Benatia

Man United have five central-defenders in their current squad, but many experts and fans have suggested that caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is short of a real leader at the back, with several possible transfer targets mooted recently.

Benatia would have been a bargain buy for United, given his experience and quality, but it looks like they will now have to make do with their current crop of defenders between now and May.

Previous Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho lamented the club’s failure to bring in defensive reinforcements at the start of the 2018-19 campaign, with rumoured moves for Leicester City’s Harry Maguire and Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti among others falling by the wayside – as per the Daily Star.

However, since Mourinho’s departure with the team languishing in mid-table in the Premier League, Solkskjaer has managed to oversee a brilliant turnaround, winning all eight of his games in charge across all competitions.

Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have all been rotated regularly and they have proved their mettle in recent weeks, meaning United need not to dwell on missing out on Benatia for too long.

Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia could be sold this week, with Newcastle and Fulham interested in securing his services.

The Ecuadorian is out of contract at Old Trafford this summer, at which point he will be allowed to leave on a free transfer. He is also able to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with any potential suitors during the current market, or he could even depart ahead of schedule for a cut-price free.

According to The Sun, United officials may be prepared to sanction his exit before the window closes, with first-team opportunities unlikely to be forthcoming for the 33-year-old between now and May.

Valencia has only managed to feature in five Premier League games this term and just one of those has come under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s stewardship, with Ashley Young and Diogo Dalot now ahead of him in the pecking order at the club.

Antonio Valencia in action for Manchester United

The veteran defender has amassed a whopping 338 appearances for the Red Devils since joining from Wigan ten years ago, contributing 25 goals in the process, but it appears that now his Old Trafford career is drawing to a close.

The Sun reports that Newcastle are considering a late bid for Valencia this month, while Fulham could also rival them for his signature after missing out Chelsea’s Victor Moses, who secure a move to Fenerbahce last week.

United have won their last eight games across all competitions with Solskjaer at the helm and suddenly the future looks bright for the team again after the ill-fated reign of Jose Mourinho.

Unfortunately, whenever a new regime takes effect there are inevitably players who fall by the wayside and Valencia may be one of the first at Old Trafford under Solskjaer, despite the fact he still holds the title of club captain.

The Sun states that the full-back had been hoping to remain at the club until at least the end of the season though, which might make a difference in any potential negotiations between United and fellow Premier League clubs over the next few days.

Tottenham have reportedly turned down the chance to sign Barcelona’s Brazilian winger Malcom on loan due to an intervention from manager Mauricio Pochettino.

According to the Sun, Barcelona had offered the player on loan to the north London club, with it also being stated that the Lilywhites were willing to go ahead with a move for the player should boss Pochettino had given it the ‘ok’.

However, as per the Sun also report, Pochettino didn’t see Malcom as a player who’d fit into his plans, something that means this potential move looks dead in the water.

Spurs are in dire need of attacking options given the fact that Harry Kane is currently out injured, thus Pochettino’s decision to turn down the chance to bring in Malcom looks like a strange one to say the least.

The 21-year-old would’ve had a lot to offer to Spurs, and we think Pochettino’s decision not to sign the Brazilian on loan will turn out to be a mistake come the end of the season.

It looks like Malcom won’t be sealing a loan move to Spurs this window after all

Malcom would’ve offered Spurs the chance to rotate their wingers, and even drop Fernando Llorente in favour of playing Heung-Min Son at striker, a move that would’ve made their attack a much more formidable force.

However, given this report, it doesn’t look like we’re going to be seeing Malcom line-up in a Tottenham shirt any time soon.

Manchester United are reportedly ready to rival Chelsea for the Ivan Rakitic transfer as Barcelona seem set to make the Croatian midfielder available in the summer.

According to Sport, a number of top clubs are on alert for Rakitic, with Arsenal also mentioned as possible contenders for his signature.

MORE: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer responds to Manchester United star’s horrendous error vs Burnley

Still, the report from Sport makes it pretty clear the 30-year-old, who has a £109million release clause, is a top priority for Chelsea as they look to rebuild their midfield.

The Blues could do with Rakitic as a replacement for Cesc Fabregas, while Mateo Kovacic is also only at Stamford Bridge on loan.

Manchester United to hijack Ivan Rakitic transfer?

However, it seems Man Utd could also be in the running as they also seem in urgent need of strengthening in midfield.

Paul Pogba needs a more reliable midfield partner after some up-and-down form from Nemanja Matic this season, while the likes of Fred and Andreas Pereira have not impressed.

Gerard Deulofeu reportedly remains keen on joining AC Milan as it’s suggested that a fresh move in the summer could be launched for the Spaniard.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a productive six-month loan spell with the Rossoneri in 2017, scoring four goals and providing three assists in 17 Serie A appearances.

SEE MORE: AC Milan transfer news: Gattuso urges club to keep key figure, star man faces exit threat

Milan still don’t appear to have found a solution to their issue on the left wing since his departure, with Hakan Calhanoglu often played out of his more natural role in midfield while Samu Castillejo continues to be used sparingly.

In turn, as noted by Calciomercato, after a return to Milan failed to materialise in January amid intense speculation and a €30m price-tag from Watford, it’s suggested that Deulofeu remains eager to secure a second spell with the Italian giants and has even sent messages to sporting director Leonardo to communicate his desire.

With that in mind, it remains to be seen whether or not the club revisit the idea in the summer, as much will perhaps depends on whether or not they successfully secure a Champions League qualification spot this season as they remain in fourth place in Serie A.

Meanwhile, Sportmediaset report on the contract renewal situation regarding five first-team players, as it’s suggested that Cristian Zapata, Jose Mauri and Ignazio Abate could all be in line to earn new deals.

However, in contrast, neither Riccardo Montolivo nor Andrea Bertolacci are expected to reach an agreement, with the pair failing to make an impression under coach Gennaro Gattuso and are seemingly surplus to requirements.

While it may well be important for Milan to continue to strengthen the squad, it seems as though they will have to make sensible decisions on who leaves too in order to create space and financial flexibility while avoiding a situation in which they offload too much depth.

Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez has dropped a hint he’s set for a transfer to Arsenal by liking a post about their win over Cardiff on Instagram.

The Spain international has been strongly linked with a loan move to the Emirates Stadium, with Fabrizio Romano tweeting that a deal looks to be agreed.

And now Suarez is teasing Gooners desperate to see something official as he for some reason suddenly decides to take up an interest in their Premier League results.

It’s now surely only a matter of when this move is made official with social media antics like this…

Denis Suarez liked Arsenal’s win over Cardiff

Manchester City are reportedly eyeing up a new left-back and deep-lying midfielder in the summer, but also a potential transfer swoop for exciting young striker Luka Jovic.

The Eintracht Frankfurt star is in superb form this season, attracting growing interest from bigger clubs, it would seem.

MORE: Chelsea legend gives Maurizio Sarri advice over player who had Manchester City ‘frightened’ in cup final

According to Goal, City are now ready to join the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona in keeping an eye on Jovic ahead of this summer, in what would be an exciting move to strengthen their attack.

Pep Guardiola already has a world class list of forwards to choose from, but Jovic could be seen as an upgrade on Gabriel Jesus, whilst also providing the club with an ideal long-term successor to Sergio Aguero.

Chelsea’s need for the Serbian is arguably greater due to their issues up front, with loan signing Gonzalo Higuain yet to make much of an impact since being brought in to provide an upgrade on the likes of Olivier Giroud, Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi, the latter two of whom have been sent out on loan.

Luka Jovic to Manchester City or Chelsea?