The moment that Ahmad Benali decided that English lower league football was perhaps not for him came when he was told to train on his own for two weeks for wearing a hat. A former England youth midfielder - born and raised in the shadow of Maine Road - Benali was on loan from Manchester City at Rochdale in 2011 when he reached what he views now as a fork in the road of his career. 'I had captained all the youth teams at City and had been told I was one for the first team in the future,' Benali reflected in his broad Manchester accent.
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Ahmad Benali is currently on the books of Serie B side Brescia
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The 22-year-old failed to make the grade at Manchester City
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After a loan spell at Rochdale, he decided life in England wasn't for him
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The playmaker has impressed in Italy since making the move
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The youngster is out of contract at the end of the current season
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Benali has an offer on the table from Serie A giants Inter Milan
When I got the chance to move to @placeholder I took it with both hands.