Major sticking points emerge as Man Utd say yes to Juventus man

Adrien Rabiot TEAMtalk

Manchester United are reported to have responded positively to a tentative enquiry to bring Adrien Rabiot to Old Trafford this summer – but signing the player may prove harder than initially expected.

The France midfielder moved to Juventus in summer 2019 on a free transfer after coming to the end of his contract at PSG, but has found it hard to command a regular shirt under Maurizio Sarri and now finds his place in the side in further jeopardy following reports that the Old Lady want to bring Jorginho to the club from Chelsea.

Juventus are said to have made Rabiot available as part of their efforts to bring Paul Pogba back to the club from United, and while talk of a swap deal may not bear fruit, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side could still land Rabiot were they to make a separate enquiry for the midfielder.

According to Calciomercato, United have told Rabiot’s representatives they are keen to bring the 25-year-old to Old Trafford, but two major obstacles look like currently blocking their path to his signature.

As per the Italian outlet, Juventus value Rabiot at around £27million (€30m) – but United disagree and reckon his fee should be not be higher than €25m (£22.7m) given the dip in the market and the player’s lack of match action over the past two seasons.

Furthermore, Rabiot’s wage package at the Allianz Stadium could also prove a stumbling block, with the former PSG man earning between £5m to £6m a year during his time in Italy; a figure United are currently unwilling to match.

As such, Calciomercato claims United have told his agent that, while they are interested in a prospective deal, any transfer would have to see both Rabiot to accept a significant drop in wages and for Juventus to lower their asking price for the midfielder.

Furthermore, it’s claimed United also have no interest in seeing the player included as part of any transfer package to take Pogba back to Turin.

There’s still a chance that Pogba will stay at United beyond the summer – and Ander Herrera recently backed him to silence any critics.

“I haven’t spoken with him for a long time and I don’t know what he wants to do,” Herrera told ESPN.

“It’s true that every day in the papers we can read that he wants to leave, or Manchester United are going to sell him, but I don’t really know what he wants to do.

 

 

“[Pogba] can be the best midfielder in the world. In terms of qualities, he has everything.

“I have never seen a midfielder who has all the qualities you can have.

“He can recover a lot of balls, he can head the ball, he can score goals, he can defend, he can attack, he’s so strong and tall.

“It’s true that since he came to the club he has some ups and downs, but when he was good, he was really good. Amazing. It was a pleasure to play with him.

“I think all the Manchester United fans want to see the best of Pogba. That can happen, and with Bruno Fernandes, I think Manchester United can do great things.

“Liverpool and Man City are also doing great things. It’s not easy but with Paul, Bruno, Marcus [Rashford] they can.”

United, meanwhile, have been warned why signing both Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz this summer look set to fall short.