Man Utd, Newcastle facing January body blow as top midfield target on brink of extending Serie A stay

Multiple outlets are reporting that a top Manchester United and Newcastle midfield target is poised to extend his stay in Serie A in the coming weeks.

Juventus and France midfielder Adrien Rabiot is the player in question, with the Premier League duo having chased the versatile 28-year-old for some time.

Rabiot will be out of contract at the end of the current campaign, having faced the same situation last summer before extending his stay for an extra 12 months.

The Frenchman currently earns a salary of €7million-a-year and, despite the fact he could earn more by moving to England, it looks like Rabiot is ready to sign off on an additional year on the same wage terms.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the player’s strong relationship with coach Max Allegri is the main reason behind his desire to remain in Turin.

Allegri is known to be one of the main reasons for Rabiot joining the club in the first place back in 2019. However, the Italian ended up moving on before the duo even had the chance to work together.

Maurizio Sarri eventually arrived a few months later to replace Allegri and that is when Rabiot’s mother and agent Veronique had considered requesting a move away from the club due to lack of game time.

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Allegri brings out the best in Rabiot

Things improved for Rabiot working under a former fellow midfielder in Andrea Pirlo, but the player’s form really went up a notch when Allgeri was back in charge.

In terms of his links to the Premier League, Manchester United was a clear suitor given Erik ten Hag’s admiration for the player.

The Red Devils wanted Rabiot over the summer but ended up bringing in Sofyan Amrabat on loan from Fiorentina instead.

However, the Morocco international has not really taken his chance at Old Trafford and is not expected to earn a permanent deal when the current campaign ends.

As for Newcastle‘s interest, that largely stemmed from the number of injuries that have affected Eddie Howe’s team this season.

And while that interest has not waned, the fact that Rabiot is on the brink of extending his stay at Juventus means both Premier League clubs can probably draw a line under their hopes of bringing in the experienced midfield star.

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