Hojlund could help Man Utd exploit transfer loophole to sign superstar free agent

Robin Bairner

• 13 Sept 2024 07:37 BST
• 3 min read

Rasmus Hojlund could help Manchester United exploit a transfer loophole to land Adrien Rabiot and have him integrate into the team immediately.

Although free agents, such as Rabiot, can be signed at any point, clubs have to finalise their 25-man Premier League squads by 14 September, meaning that not all can use this method of strengthening their rosters.

At some clubs, this could see the Frenchman shutout until the January transfer window, when the registration period opens again, yet thanks in part to Hojlund, Man Utd still have the possibility of landing the former PSG and Juventus midfielder.

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The reason for this is that Man Utd will still have space in their Premier League squad, meaning that if Rabiot joins up, he will be available to play straight away.

Although teams can register up to 25 players, they can only name a maximum of 17 non-homegrown players, which is the category Rabiot would fall into at Old Trafford.

Crucially, any footballers aged 21 or under at the start of the season, regardless of where they have been trained, do not count towards this figure.

As such, Hojlund and fellow first-team regular Alejandro Garnacho are able to lend a hand because neither count towards United’s allocation of players.

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Rabiot would provide midfield strength

Rabiot could potentially be a useful addition to Erik ten Hag’s group because of the strength they have lost in midfield over the summer, with Scott McTominay and Sofyan Amrabat both leaving the club while Casemiro continues to look a shadow of the player he once was. Although Manuel Ugarte was signed from PSG, additional cover would be welcome.

He is said to want a handsome wage, which has prevented him from finding a team so far. Barcelona are among the sides that have been put off by the demands of the player and his mother, Veronique Rabiot, who acts as his agent.