Former Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot is still without a club, but French football expert Jonathan Johnson has provided some insight into when his situation could finally be resolved.
The 29-year-old is keen to play in the Premier League next, and CaughtOffside understands he has interest from both Manchester United and Newcastle United.
Johnson himself is less certain of the links with Man Utd, but admitted the Red Devils considered him earlier in the summer as a possible alternative in case they weren’t able to sign their first choice, Manuel Ugarte, who did end up joining from Paris Saint-Germain eventually.
Still, Rabiot remains keen on a move to English football, and he’s keen on playing for a top club, having rejected some other lucrative offers, according to Johnson.
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While it’s still not clear where Rabiot will end up, Johnson seems confident the France international’s future will be resolved soon, following Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps hitting out at the situation recently.
“Adrien Rabiot’s future still hasn’t been resolved as he remains a free agent since leaving Juventus at the end of last season, and Didier Deschamps notably called the situation “embarrassing” as he spoke about Rabiot’s absence from the latest France squad,” Johnson said.
“Obviously it’s also a bit of a fragile moment for the French national team, with Deschamps under a bit of pressure after failing to play as well as many would have hoped at Euro 2024, while it’s also been a bit of a slow start to the Nations League. Deschamps is clearly not too happy with Rabiot’s situation and the fact that he’s still without a club despite all these links we’ve seen.
“I think the Manchester United links were always with Rabiot being seen as an alternative to Manuel Ugarte, but at the same time he’s always going to be the kind of player that top clubs are looking at – a free agent who can come in and give them a big boost in positions that are problematic for them, whether it’s because of an injury or if they’re generally a bit light in midfield.
“So I think there is still some hope that there can be a resolution to Rabiot’s future in the coming weeks, but even if he were to join a new club tomorrow he would still be some way off the level of fitness of his teammates because they’ve been back training for at least a month or so now with their respective clubs.
“It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out as Rabiot has turned down some lucrative offers, but it’s clear he has quite a strong preference to remain at the very top level in Europe, while he’s also tempted by the Premier League, where he feels there’s unfinished business from his brief spell with Manchester City as a youngster.”