Long term Manchester United target Adrien Rabiot officially leaves Juventus

Long term Manchester United target Adrien Rabiot has officially left Juventus and is now a free agent.

The Red Devils have been linked to the midfielder ever since Erik ten Hag became manager two years ago.

A deal was very close in August 2022 as United agreed a fee with Juventus for an initial £15 million but the player’s wage demands scuppered a potential deal.

After securing Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, United now want to bolster their midfield and have reached an agreement on personal terms with Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte.

PSR restrictions mean that United must sell to buy in the midfield so Rabiot being a free transfer may just tempt the Red Devils back for a third time now he has officially departed the Serie A side.

La Gazzetta dello Sport report “now it’s official: Juventus and Adrien Rabiot have separated after five seasons and four trophies: a Scudetto, an Italian Super Cup and two Italian Cups.”

In regard to the French international’s future the paper reports that “after being a protagonist with PSG and Juve, he has never hidden his hope for an opportunity from the Premier League: from Manchester United to Liverpool. Pay attention, however, also to the big Spanish teams, after Real Madrid and Barcelona have also asked for information.”

Corrierre dello Sport add that “the reality is that Juventus had proposed a two-year deal, more or less on the figures (over 7 million euros per year, double gross) that he already received in his previous agreement. A proposal he rejected quite quickly.”

The outlet claims that Rabiot’s rejection was not for economnic reasons however but borne out of the search for a new challenge.

This is interesting from a United perspective as the French based journalist Abdellah Boulma replied in a post on X to Fabrizio Romano that Rabiot’s “dream” is a move to Old Trafford.

It was relayed here a few days ago that Rabiot was no longer a target for United but there have been growing murmurs of a move once again.

If the player will agree to reasonable wages, bringing him in alongside a player like Ugarte would probably be an economically sensible idea and would add valuable experience to an increasingly young team.