Manchester United director of football John Murtough has flown to Italy to try to work out personal terms with Adrien Rabiot ahead of a proposed £15 million move from Juventus.
United boss Erik ten Hag has been frustrated in his attempts to bring in another central midfielder this summer with the club struggling to get a big-money deal for Frenkie de Jong over the line.
The Dutch international has been widely touted as ten Hag’s first choice target but Man Utd are no closer to completing a move despite months of negotiations. To make matters worse, the Mirror says that Chelsea is now in the driving seat to sign de Jong should he opt to leave the Nou Camp this summer.
Manchester United are now on the verge of giving up their pursuit of the former Ajax star and moving on to alternatives, with Rabiot emerging as a serious target in recent weeks.
The Mirror claims that a deal worth around £15m has already been agreed with Juventus for the French international and United are now trying to thrash out personal terms.
However, that’s proven difficult as Rabiot’s agent, Veronique – who is also his mother – is a tough negotiator and the Mirror says that the player’s camp has made it clear they’ll only talk with Murtough and not any intermediary agents.
Tough task
The newspaper cites a report from the Telegraph that claims this stance has forced Murtough to fly out to Italy to try and thrash out personal terms with Rabiot and his mother.
According to the report, Rabiot is reluctant to join a club that isn’t in the Champions League so Murtough faces a tough task trying to persuade the midfielder to complete his proposed move to Old Trafford.
Man Utd hope they can convince the 27-year-old by reminding him they are still one of the biggest clubs in the world and he’ll be guaranteed regular first-team football under ten Hag.
With the World Cup approaching, Rabiot may be enticed by the prospect of regular activities that will help him secure a spot in Didier Deschamps’ France squad ahead of Qatar 2022.
Manchester United desperately needs new blood in the middle of the park, as evidenced by their defeat to Brighton on the opening weekend of the new season.
Fred and Scott McTominay were once again huge disappointments, and with Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic gone, Manchester United has very little depth in midfield, so ten Hag knows he needs to bring in at least one new signing this month.
