Arsenal and Manchester United could be about to lock horns in the transfer market
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta(Image credit: Getty Images)
There are now less than four weeks to go until the summer transfer window closes and we’re seeing the Premier League big hitters starting to make some swings in the market.
Arsenal completed the signing of Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna for £42million last week as they look to close the gap on Manchester City this season.
The other big mover near the top of the table has been Manchester United, who brought in Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yor for a combined £90million as they look to get their house in order after last season’s eighth-placed Premier League finish. But now, the two old rivals could be about to do battle in the transfer window.
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That’s because the Gunners are said to have shown ‘significant interest’ in signing free-agent midfielder Adrien Rabiot, according to TuttoJuve.
The France international is currently without a club after his contract at Juventus expired this summer, ending a five-year spell in Turin and the report adds that Rabiot is prioritising a move to a Champions League club, which is an advantage that Arsenal have over the Red Devils.
Rabiot had been linked with the Old Trafford club, who are looking to bolster their midfield after their first two signings of the summer saw them land a centre-back and a forward.
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Adrien Rabiot in action for France (Image credit: Getty Images)
Liverpool and Real Madrid are also credited with an interest in this report, but Arsenal will be buoyed by comments last week from Rabiot’s mother Veronique, who spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport about her son’s future, when she hit out at incorrect media reports, before the same publication namechecked the Gunners.
Rabiot started five of France’s six games at Euro 2024, with the 29-year-old having added one league title at Juventus to the five he previously won at Paris Saint-Germain.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Rabiot (valued at €35million by Transfermarkt) is perhaps the best free agent on the market this summer and although he would command a hefty wage packet, he would bring an immense amount of experience with him, having played 60 games in the Champions League and winning six league titles. On the flipside, the Frenchman has a reputation for being difficult to manage – it looks as if Mikel Merino is favoured by Arteta, but that Rabiot could be a backup in that plan fails.
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team.
