Man Utd ‘above all’ in race for €40m Newcastle target as European giants look to finalise ‘agreement’
According to reports, Manchester United are ‘above all’ in the race to sign Newcastle United target Adrien Rabiot from Serie A giants Juventus.
Man Utd were linked with Rabiot throughout the 2022/23 campaign as he was in the final year of his contract at Juventus.
The 28-year-old has been used as a defensive midfielder during the majority of his career to date but he was lauded last season as he was used in an attacking role.
Rabiot made the most of this switch as he grabbed 11 goals and six assists in his 48 appearances for Juventus across all competitions.
The midfielder was expected to leave Juventus during the summer transfer window amid interest from Man Utd and Newcastle but he ended up signing a new contract with Juventus.
Rabiot – valued at €40m by transfermarkt – only penned a one-year extension so his Juventus exit may have been delayed by a single season.
Italian outlet Calciomercato are reporting that Rabiot’s recent renewal has only ‘postponed some discussions’ with interested parties.
Rabiot is ‘attractive’ to many clubs but Man Utd ‘above all’ are interested in signing him from the Turin-based outfit.
The Red Devils reportedly ‘continue to monitor’ the midfielder ‘very closely’ but Newcastle are ‘immediately behind’ them in the running for Rabiot, while Atletico Madrid are also keen to sign him.
Juventus are looking to keep Rabiot, though. The report claims they ‘have no intention’ of letting him leave and they will ‘look to retain the player’ through a ‘new agreement’ over a longer contract.
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Brighton’s Evan Ferguson is another player Man Utd have been heavily linked with over the past few months.
The 18-year-old has scored 14 goals in his first 34 senior appearances for Brighton and he recently extended his contract until 2028.
It was recently reported that Man Utd had a £50m summer bid for Ferguson ‘laughed off’ by their Premier League rivals and The Athletic are now reporting that he ‘never had confirmation the interest was concrete’ from United and ‘in any case felt Brighton was the best place for him to continue his progress with regular games’.
Regarding United’s interest in Harry Kane, the report added: ‘England captain Harry Kane was his first choice but United removed themselves from that pursuit in mid-June based on the perceived overall cost of the deal.
‘Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy had indicated a fee of £120million would be required and, in any case, there was an unwillingness to do a deal with another English club, while United were told Kane’s wages would come close to £30m per season.
‘[John] Murtough always felt it was unwise to get drawn into a protracted negotiation with Levy that had no guarantee of a compromise.’
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