Adrien Rabiot has reportedly refused to return to Juventus after the coronavirus-imposed lockdown has ended, prompting rumours that the French midfielder is trying to orchestrate a move away from the club this summer. Manchester United have been heavily linked to the 25-year-old and have watched him on numerous occasions.
The Italian Government has given the go ahead for all Serie A clubs to return to training from Monday 11 May 2020 and a number of Rabiot’s teammates have returned to Turin ahead of the return. Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly returned to Italy last week and will have to spend 14 days inn quarantine after his return from Madeira.
Spanish news source, Sport has reported that Rabiot has not even been in contact with Juventus so they do not know if or when he will be back. The 25-year-old joined the Old Lady as a free agent last summer and still has three-years remaining on his contract. His future could be up in the air after failing to cement his place in Maurizio Sarri’s squad.
The French midfielder made a total of 24 appearances for Juventus during the 2019/20 season, before the coronavirus pandemic suspended world football, not scoring or assisting a single goal and playing 1,550 minutes of football. He operates as a central midfielder and ‘combines good technique with impressive physical qualities’.
United have many midfielders at the club at this moment in time with Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay, Fred and Nemanja Matic, not to mention James Garner and Dylan Levitt, who are both coming through the clubs academy. However, if one midfielder left the club this summer, there would be a space in the squad.
With the fact that Juventus want to re-sign Pogba this summer, it is suggested that Rabiot could be included in a possible deal. However, United will need to ensure they do not add more deadwood to their squad and if they choose to sell Pogba, they should opt to cash only, possibly purchasing Rabiot as a separate deal.
United have been linked with the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Douglas Costa and Miralem Panic in possible deals which would see Pogba return to the club he left United for the first time, with most of those players not actually fitting in with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s youth policy and would probably end up pushing United in the wrong direction again.
United need to remember that they call the shots at this moment in time. They should not let a buying club define everything, as they have Pogba for another year and have the option to add a further year onto his contract – this puts them in control of the situation and they should be targeting the player that would fit into Solskjaer’s plans.
Rabiot is a player that United have held an interest in for more than just a year but the player seemingly did nothing to get United to hone in on purchasing him and as he was unhappy at Paris Saint-Germain, leaving as a free agent and not yet one year later, seems unhappy again and is seeking to leave. Could he be the player United needs at this time?
