For the past few days, the Manchester United transfer rumour mill appears to have somewhat forgotten about Frenkie de Jong and been all about Adrien Rabiot.
This appears to be the avenue the Red Devils are currently actively pursuing, finding it far easier to negotiate a deal for the Frenchman than his Dutch counterpart.
That’s mostly because Juventus are willing sellers, and Manchester United, said to have already found an agreement with the Serie A side, are now trying to convince Rabiot himself.
The first echos have been promising, as despite not having Champions League football to offer, the Old Trafford side are still an attractive prospect for a lot of players.
Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport both have updates on the matter, with the former of the two giving us some details about Rabiot’s demands.
It’s explained Manchester United ‘have not objected’ to Juventus wanting close to €20m for their player, partly ‘because they have had to deal with the hesitations of Rabiot’s mother, Véronique’.
They reveal the midfielder ‘asks for a three-year deal worth over €10m/year and would like the Champions League, so his approval is slow in coming’.
However, Corriere are a bit more optimistic about it all, explaining that ‘in the last few hours, important steps have been made, especially on the most risky front, that of seeking an agreement with the player’.
Following a phone call with Erik ten Hag, the matter was passed on to those higher up at Manchester United, ‘who made contact with the player’s mother’.
From those conversations, ‘the first report is comforting: the feedback is positive and bodes well’.
Down their end, it’s reiterated Juventus would be happy to see Rabiot go, allowing them to accelerate their efforts to sign Leandro Paredes from Paris Saint-Germain, seen as the ‘long awaited reinforcement for the midfield.’
