Exclusive: Former Man United transfer target wants Premier League challenge
Adrien Rabiot looks set to leave Juventus on a free transfer this summer and could be keen on challenging himself in the Premier League.
Writing in his exclusive weekly CaughtOffside column, French football expert Jonathan Johnson discussed Rabiot’s situation and explained that a return to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain looks unlikely.
Rabiot has shone with Juve and also had a key role in France’s run to the 2022 World Cup final, so there’s surely some sense in clubs like Manchester United looking at him again.
Johnson has confirmed the Red Devils were in for Rabiot last summer, but a combination of his wage demands and the issues at Old Trafford at the time meant the deal fell through.
It remains to be seen if Man Utd would still make Rabiot a priority after they ended up signing Casemiro instead, but it seems Johnson thinks we shouldn’t rule out seeing the 27-year-old in the Premier League.
“With Manchester United last summer, there was some talk that the move fell through because of his wage demands, but it’s also worth remembering that United were not in the best shape at that time,” Johnson said.
“I know they’ve just been thumped 7-0 by Liverpool now, but generally speaking they’re in a better place than they were when that interest in Rabiot was first explored.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily clear that Rabiot still fits in with what Ten Hag is trying to do now, but Rabiot on a free transfer is a lot more tempting than having to pay a transfer fee for him, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see clubs revisit that.
“I think many people also forget that, although Rabiot burst onto the scene at senior level with PSG, he actually spent a few years in the Manchester City academy, so he does have experience of playing in England I think it’s somewhere he’d like to test himself again at some point in the future.
“There have been suggestions that PSG might explore bringing him back to France, but given how he left and his relationship with the club I think that’s a difficult one to envisage, so I think the Premier League is definitely a potential destination for him, especially one who can offer European football.
“Still, he will come with some quite specific demands from his entourage – everyone knows he’s famously represented by his mother, and that can turn a lot of clubs off Rabiot’s talent. The talent is definitely there, though, as we saw in the World Cup with France.”
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