Man Utd transfer claims branded ‘false’ by star’s mother and agent as Newcastle get January green light

Manchester United have never been in serious candidates to sign Adrien Rabiot after his mother and agent dismissed claims around talks with the Red Devils and amid fresh new claims that a January move to Newcastle could be on the cards.

The Juventus midfielder has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League for a good few seasons now with Rabiot himself even admitting he can one day see himself moving back to England, having previously been on the books of Manchester City.

The likes of Arsenal and Liverpool have been touted as possible transfer options in recent times, though he has perhaps never come closer to signing for a Premier League side than in summer 2022 when it was reported he held a series of talks with Manchester United.

At the time, the Red Devils – then under the new management of Erik ten Hag – were desperately scouring the globe to sign a new midfielder, having tried, over the course of several fruitless weeks, to persuade Frenkie de Jong to quit Barcelona.

Following that failure, Ten Hag and Co then turned their attention towards Rabiot, reportedly striking a fee in the region of £26m (€30m) for the Frenchman, who, at the time, had just a year to run on his contract with Juventus.

However, it was claimed at the time that the financial demands of the player’s mother and agent, Veronique – who is known in the game as a pretty tough negotiator – saw the move to Old Trafford break down.

And United abandoned the transfer plan once it became apparent that Casemiro was willing to make the move as a £70m switch from Real Madrid was very quickly sanctioned.

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Adrien Rabiot to Man Utd transfer claims dismissed as ‘all false’

Veronique Rabiot, however, has dismissed suggestions that talks with United ever took place.

And she claims, in an interview with Tuttomercatoweb, that claims the move broke down over her demands for her son have been fabricated.

“Did it all fall apart due to a question of money? All false,” she said.

“United wanted to meet me to illustrate the interest in Adrien, but we never talked about money in detail because he quickly decided to stay in Turin. There were never any real negotiations.”

Rabiot went on to sign an extension with Juventus at the end of the following season and shortly before his existing arrangement was due to expire.

But with that 12-month deal again due to lapse on 1 July 2024, Rabiot is once again being tipped to move to the Premier League. In fact, a report last month suggested Rabiot was one of five big names on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s wishlist as he looks to take charge of United’s transfer business at Old Trafford.

Juventus could sell midfielder to Newcastle

Juventus, for their part, will not want to lose the midfielder on a free once again. And while Rabiot has expressed his willingness and happiness to stay, the situation may yet be taken out of his hands should the Bianconeri look to cash in during the January window.

However, as Calciomercato reports, it is a move to Newcastle that now appears more likely.

The Magpies are still reeling from the lengthy suspension handed out to their £55m summer signing Sandro Tonali, who was found to be in breach of breaking betting regulations from his time spent with AC Milan.

With his season being brought to a premature end, Newcastle are reportedly looking for a top-class replacement to see them through both the rest of this season – and possibly beyond.

The likes of Kalvin Phillips – free to leave Manchester City in January for around £50m – Everton’s Amadou Onana, former Wolves man Ruben Neves and Teun Koopmeiners of Atalanta have all been linked with moves to St James’ Park as Eddie Howe looks to fill Tonali’s void.

However, the reports in Italy claim Rabiot is a realistic option for the Magpies with a sizeable offer likely to tempt Juve to sell. Quite what amount ‘sizeable’ actually refers to remains to be seen. But with the player having just over six months left on his deal come the January window, as things stand, Howe and Co will hope to secure his signing and for a fee that falls within their transfer budget, if they are indeed to put their focus on signing the 28-year-old.

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