Manchester United dealt transfer blow as Adrien Rabiot wants Champions League football
According to the Italian source Tuttosport (h/t Daily Mail), Manchester United have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Adrien Rabiot as he is said to want Champions League football at his next club. This update would reduce their hopes of signing him in an attempt to bolster their midfield this summer.
Rabiot has made up his mind to leave Juventus despite having one year left in his current contract. As such, they have set up an asking price of £17million in guaranteed fees for his signature. They are not interested in reducing that valuation and even want to add bonuses to make it more expensive.
Man United are in the mix to secure the Frenchman’s services, but their chances of completing a move have been dampened by his desire to play in the CL. That could pave the way for Chelsea to try their cards as they could battle it out with their direct rivals to sign him this summer.
Man Utd to lose out on Rabiot?
Our midfield would become short-handed when the likes of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Nemanja Matic would leave at the end of this month. There was a need to bolster the centre of the pitch even before their departure but takes priority now.
Rabiot, who has previously played for Paris Saint-Germain as well, could prove to be a fine addition indeed in our current delicate situation. However, the lack of CL football would hamper our chances now that we know about his desire to play in the highly prestigious competition.
Thomas Tuchel has already contacted the 27-year-old midfielder to discuss the possibility of a potential move. The Blues have qualified for the CL, which means that they could be ahead of us in this transfer pursuit. If that is the case, then perhaps it would be best if we look at other alternatives to prepare for a worst-case scenario.
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In fact, the situation is made even worse for us, with Atletico Madrid having been touted as a potential destination as well. Supposedly, Rabiot could move to Spain on a swap deal with Alvaro Morata, who was on loan with the Bianconeri in the previous season.
Diego Simeone’s side can also offer CL football which gives us all the more reason to prepare a shortlist of alternative targets. Then again, we should look to convince Rabiot using the project we are trying to build under Erik ten Hag to make a case for ourselves. Whether that will help us level the playing field or not would need to be seen in due time.