The thing is that we seem in the best position to buy Benatia as well. His agent was reported to be in Barcelona, he mentioned us first in his "big clubs" list, it was reported that his relative said he'd pick Barca, and the news about other clubs going for him doesn't really go farther than weak speculation. The only issue is the lack of heavy rumors for him for the past 1-2 days and too much focus on Marquinhos.
The kid undoubtedly has talent. However we need size, muscle, and aggression in our defense. Benatia would be pretty much 6 inches taller than Mascherano and give us a lot more strength for set pieces and a great physical presence for ground defending as well with his pace.