Watch: Adrien Rabiot appears to confirm move to Manchester United
Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot has seemingly confirmed that he is about to join Manchester United this summer.
United are in desperate need of midfield reinforcements after Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba both left on free transfers at the end of last season.
Erik ten Hag’s side made Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong their top transfer target but a potential move has been complicated by the fact that the 25-year-old is still owed £17million in deferred wages from the Spanish giants.
While United are still hoping to sign De Jong before the end of the transfer window, they are also looking at other midfield targets.
According to the Manchester Evening News, they have agreed to pay Juventus an initial £15million for Rabiot and that could rise to £20million with add-ons.
United football director John Murtough recently travelled to Turin to meet Rabiot’s mum, who works as his agent and has a fearsome reputation.
“You can read stuff about his mum and a lot of it is true,” French football journalist Julien Laurens said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Euro Leagues podcast.
“She had a fallout with [Paul] Pogba’s mum and [Kylian] Mbappe’s dad, where she told them to run more and work harder.
“She is very old school. She wants to do things the right way and is very stubborn. Everything she is trying to do is for the best of her son. She clashes with people – she doesn’t fear anyone.”
United’s need for new signings has increased following their 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton and their 4-0 loss at Brentford.
Rabiot, who has made 129 appearances for Juventus, could even join the Red Devils before their next Premier League game against Liverpool.
“The club’s priority is to complete the deal for Adrien Rabiot,” Fabrizio Romano told CaughtOffside. “There will be new contacts in the next 24-48 hours with his mother Veronique to complete the agreement.
“United will then decide on the situation of the new striker. It is also necessary to understand how the winger issue will evolve with Cody Gakpo discussed internally alongside top, complicated priority target Antony.
“Manchester United hope to complete at least one or two new signings next week.”
The France international was recently filmed meeting a fan in a TikTok video and didn’t deny that he is moving to England.
They speak in French, but the translation is: “I am here with the great player Rabiot, of Juventus, now in England. So I wish you the best brother. Bye bye.”
Adrien Rabiot appears to confirm his move to Manchester United. (🎥 TK: crazycouplesardaigne) pic.twitter.com/0FddEhdmG2
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) August 15, 2022
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