Manchester United set to do battle with Liverpool yet again with top free agent ready to make his decision
Manchester United and Liverpool are set to hold personal talks with French international Adrien Rabiot over a potential free transfer this summer.
Rabiot has come to the end of a five-year stint at Juventus and will leave Turin on a free transfer in the coming days but his final destination remains up in the air.
Manchester United will be buoyed by the imminent signing of Leny Yoro following the capture of Joshua Zirkzee, which shows that the Old Trafford club can still attract top talents even when their biggest Premier League rivals are sniffing around.
Football Italia report that Manchester United and Liverpool will battle for the signature of Rabiot while Newcastle United are also believed to be preparing to talk to the player.
Liverpool are yet to make a signing and the fans are getting twitchy.
The publication report that Rabiot rejected an offer to recontract with Juventus with the offered salary falling short of his expectations and the France star aware of interest in his services from Premier League heavyweights.
“Adrien Rabiot has reportedly rejected the final Juventus contract offer, so now considers himself free to discuss with other clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Milan and Napoli,” the publication report.
“The France international had allowed his contract to run down last summer, only to sign a new one-year deal, and the club hoped he would do it again in 2024.
“However, this time they were only prepared to offer him a salary of €7m per season plus €1m in add-ons.
“Following the end of EURO 2024, Rabiot took time to consider and has now turned it down, with a formal announcement of his decision expected on Thursday.”
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Rabiot’s reported wage demands make a stay in Serie A appear increasingly unlikely but with several top English clubs in the mix he should be confident of securing the kind of salary that he wants.
The midfielder is a product of the Paris Saint-Germain youth academy, and he joined Juventus as a free agent in the summer of 2019 having allowed his deal with the French superclub to expire.
Rabiot leaves Juventus after turning out for the club in 212 competitive games, scoring 22 goals and providing 15 assists and being part of an impressive trophy haul in Turin.
During his five seasons at the club they won the Coppa Italia twice and also claimed the Scudetto in the 2019/20 season and the Italian Super Cup.
Liverpool and Manchester United both desire an experienced midfielder to bolster their respective engine rooms.