Juventus have said that French midfielder Adrien Rabiot would not be sold during the January transfer window, despite media speculation linking him to Manchester United and Arsenal.
Since Rabiot joined Maurizio Sarri’s side last season from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. He has struggled to hold down a place in the team and has endured a torrid time with the Serie A champions making only five starts in Serie A, plus a further two in the Champions League group stages.
According to the Sun, Juventus believe they can bring Pogba back to Turin with his relationship at Old Trafford breaking down and the Italian side think they can persuade Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to sell their prized asset by offering Adrien Rabiot plus cash in a deal totalling £85million. However, Juventus hope he can help sweeten the deal to see Pogba return to the club where he spent four years.
Gunner manager Mikel Arteta has identified Rabiot as a target in January in order to solve the club’s creativity problem and the Spaniard is hopeful that Juventus would allow him leave Turin on a temporary basis. It is understood that Juventus would prefer to part ways with German midfielder Emre Can, who is even lower than Rabiot in the pecking order at the Allianz Stadium.
Rabiot is capable of operating as both a playmaker and a defensive midfielder and Arteta seemingly sees Rabiot as an ideal solution for his side’s midfield woes. The Gunners have lacked creativity in midfield since Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos got injured and playmaker Mesut Ozil’s unimppresive performance when he is named in the starting eleven.
Also, Granit Xhaka has been relegated to the bench since his clash with the Arsenal fans. The former captain was tipped to leave under former manager Unai Emery, but Arteta appears to have given Xhaka a chance to redeem himself at the Emirates Stadium. However, by pursuing Rabiot, it seems Arteta feels like Arsenal still need more reinforcements if they are to fight their way back up the Premier League table.
And according to Goal, the Italians aren’t even entertaining the idea of Rabiot permanently moving away. The report added that Bianconeri do not need the money they could earn from his departure. On top of that, they have been pleased with his progress in Turin, and want to give him more time to rediscover his form after the 24-year-old spent his final months at PSG as an outcast.
