Milton Keynes Dons' fifth signing of the summer is highly-rated Peru international Cristian Benavente, and the attacking midfielder is excited by the switch.
The 21-year-old moves to stadiummk from Real Madrid, having been with the Spanish giants since the age of eight.He has made 33 appearances for Real Marid's reserve team, who are managed by Zinedine Zidane, and has collected eight caps on the international stage.
“I’m so happy to be here in this stadium and in this city,” Benavente told mkdons.com. “[MK Dons] is a really good club with good people and I’m excited to start training and playing.”
.@CBBDix: "MK Dons is a really good club - I’m excited to get started." http://t.co/3xjItLLTc9#WelcomeCristianpic.twitter.com/zpIYzSjOlB
— MK Dons FC (@MKDonsFC) July 17, 2015
Benavente follows in the footsteps of Simon Church, Dale Jennings, Cody Cropper and Joe Walsh in joining the Dons during the close season as manager Karl Robinson prepares the club for its first Sky Bet Championship campaign.
The manager believes Benavente will take time to adjust to English football, but says MK Dons is the right club for him.
“We did a lot of due diligence behind the scenes and didn’t get one bad report,” Robinson said.
“I feel we’re a club that suits him. There is an unpredictability about it but he’s been schooled in a wonderful way having been with Real Madrid since the age of eight.
“He has an ability to play in a number of positions. He is one for the future but hopefully he can make an impact now as well – he’s certainly an exciting talent.”