Manchester United are only pursuing a transfer for Adrien Rabiot after being beaten to Erik ten Hag’s preferred option of Fabian Ruiz.
United have reportedly agreed a deal in principle with Juventus to sign Rabiot – a day after suffering a miserable 2-1 defeat by Brighton in their opening Premier League fixture. Ten Hag opted to start the match with Scott McTominay and Fred in midfield, but both struggled and were substituted in a galling loss which underlined the need for new players.
Frenkie de Jong remains United’s primary target for the role, given his connection to Ten Hag at previous club Ajax, but the club are beginning to explore other options, with the saga dragging on with Barcelona. United have until September 1 to bolster their midfield, which was seriously depleted following the departures of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard.
According to Goal, one of the midfielders United were considering was Ruiz, who Ten Hag viewed as ‘an ideal alternative’ to De Jong. The 26-year-old is a Spain international and a ball-playing midfielder of great quality who has shone for Napoli over the past four years after joining from Real Betis, scoring 22 times in 166 appearances.
The problem for United is that they are far from the only club interested in signing Ruiz this summer. Arsenal and Juventus have also been linked with the midfielder, but it is Paris Saint-Germain who have made the most progress.
L’Equipe reports that PSG have agreed personal terms with Ruiz and are now negotiating a transfer fee with Napoli. There is some work to do on that front, with the French club offering €20million plus €5m add-ons, which is shy of Napoli’s €30m (£25m) asking price.
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PSG are in the market for midfielders after offloading Gini Wijnaldum to Roma and new sporting director Luis Campos has made Ruiz his chief target for the role. The progress the Parisien club have made suggests United need to look elsewhere – and that’s where Rabiot comes in.
The 27-year-old France international is in the final year of his Juventus contract and would therefore be much more affordable than De Jong. Manchester Evening News reports that a fee has now been agreed with Juventus, with finer details set to be ironed out with the player's agent, his mother, Veronique.
Rabiot started out at PSG, where he made 227 appearances before departing for Juventus in 2019. He has been a regular in his three seasons at Juve, where he has played 129 matches under three different coaches.
The France international is not the only new name on Manchester United ’s radar, with the club also pursuing a deal for Bologna striker Marko Arnautovic. The 33-year-old striker worked with Ten Hag and Steve McClaren at FC Twente earlier in his career and has Premier League experience with West Ham and Stoke City.
