Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Champions League football ‘has always been important’ to Adrien Rabiot, amid interest from Manchester United.
Romano was speaking following the news broken by The Athletic reporter David Ornstein on Twitter, confirming United’s admiration for the Juventus midfielder.
The reports came just a day after the Red Devils’ disastrous defeat in their Premier League opener at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, with midfield tandem Scott McTominay and Fred coming in for staunch criticism from ex-United captain Roy Keane.
Rabiot has just one year left on his current contract, and while Romano says there is no problem between the two clubs, he has stressed that a deal may hinge on whether the Frenchman is willing to sacrifice football at the elite level in Europe.
Speaking on The United Stand YouTube channel, he said: “We have to see what happens on the player’s side because Adrien Rabiot, when he’s made some decision on his future in the past – for example, what happened with Juventus, what happened also with Paris Saint-Germain, it’s never been so easy with his mother as agent, because they always want to take care of every single decision and so they want to take their time to decide the future of the player.
“Champions League football is something that has always been important for Adrien Rabiot, and so let’s see what he will decide.
“I’m told that there is a conversation also on the player’s side – Manchester United and the player’s side – to understand his idea, his plans and what he wants to do, and so we will see.
“I think it will be an important week for this deal because Juventus and Man United have no problem. He’s a player available on the market for Juventus. Juventus are prepared to let him go [for a] long time so Rabiot is a player that Juve would sell, but the problem is now on the player’s side.
“Let’s see what happens, but for Man United, he is a new option for sure.”
TIF Thoughts on Rabiot and United…
Would Rabiot be an upgrade for MUFC?Yes
No
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With a move for Frenkie de Jong dragging on, it does seem as if Erik ten Hag will need to explore different options.
However, considering Rabiot’s injury problems and questions surrounding his attitude, it would perhaps seem like adding fuel to the fire if the Old Trafford executives were to bring the 27-year-old in.
Bereft of any attacking threat, Rabiot doesn’t exactly stand out in any particular area of the game and actually averaged fewer key passes than both Fred and McTominay last term, so whether he is the correct target is up for debate, and Richard Arnold may well be exploring other avenues.