Is Man Utd-target Adrien Rabiot a one-season wonder?

Carlo Garganese

27 Sep 2023 07:45 CDT
4 min read

Adrion Rabiot of Juventus with the Manchester United badge — © ProShots

Manchester United are back in for Adrien Rabiot once again.

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According to a number of reports in England and Italy, United are targeting Rabiot for a third year in a row in 2024.

United plan to sign the 28-year-old when his contract expires at Juve at the end of the season.

Rabiot’s stock is high right now and, on paper, this looks like a good deal for United.

The Frenchman will be available for nothing, while it is well established that United need to improve their midfield department. This will be even more the case next summer when Casemiro will be another year older.

Rabiot should be in the peak of his career. Indeed, last season was the best season of his career by some distance.

He scored 11 goals in all competitions for Juve - more than any other Serie A midfielder. He also contributed six assists.

Rabiot was by a distance Juve’s player of the season in what was a dismal campaign on and off the pitch.

He also impressed at the World Cup as France made it all the way to the final, scoring against Australia.

His athleticism, physicality, aerial strength and ability to get up and down the pitch makes him a good fit for the Premier League.

However, there will be the nagging doubts that 2022-23 was just a one-season wonder for Rabiot.

In his previous three campaigns for Juve he struggled badly. He was unpopular with fans and was largely considered as someone who wasn’t good enough for the Bianconeri.

Indeed he scored five goals in three seasons in Serie A before last campaign.

Before that at PSG he was someone who never lived up to the potential he showed as a teenager.

So far this season, Rabiot has not played well for Juventus.

It’s too early to make any firm conclusion on whether 2022-23 was just a one-off season.

The coming months will provide the answer to that question.

But it’s something United should watch closely before committing to officially move for Rabiot once his contract is six months out from expiring in January.

Man Utd’s third attempt to sign Rabiot

Rabiot was very close to joining Man Utd last year, with the 28-year-old locked in advanced negotiations with the Red Devils.

It is widely understood that Juventus and Man Utd agreed on a transfer fee worth €18 million plus €6m in add-ons.

All that was required to complete the move was for Rabiot to agree personal terms.

However, Rabiot requested a huge salary rise. His mother and agent Veronique was blamed for these excessive demands, also asking for a huge signing-on bonus.

Subsequently, Man Utd refused to meet these salary demands and the transfer fell through.

They tried to sign Rabiot again on a free transfer this past summer as his contract at Juve was expiring.

For a while it seemed as if a deal was inevitable but again Rabiot’s mother’s excessive demands were blamed for a transfer not being completed.

Subsequently Rabiot signed a one-year extension at Juventus until 2024.

Juve wish to extend the deal further.