Juventus agree to sell Adrien Rabiot to Man Utd with personal terms still to be negotiated; United were expected to go back in with an improved offer for Bologna striker Marko Arnautovic but have pulled out of the deal; Former target Benjamin Sesko has signed for RB Leipzig
Wednesday 10 August 2022 06:31, UK
Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
There is still work to do until the deal is complete, with personal terms still needing to be negotiated with his agent and mother Veronique.
Rabiot - who joined Juventus as a free agent in the summer of 2019, is in the final year of his contract and has fallen out of favour at the Italian giants.
Juventus are satisfied with letting Rabiot leave the club this summer before his contract ends in 2023.
United have continued to work on all midfield options as a transfer for Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong has been a complicated one to do, but they have not given up on a deal for de Jong, and there is still a belief there is a deal to be done.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has reiterated that there have been offers but has indicated that De Jong wants to stay, and that the club want him to stay. However, economic issues have not gone away and the matter of De Jong's deferred wages remains unresolved.
Central midfield has been a priority position all summer for United and signing both Rabiot and De Jong has not been ruled out.
Rabiot had a brief spell in the academy of Manchester City before turning professional at Paris Saint-Germain in his homeland a decade ago.
He made 227 appearances and won five league titles at PSG before joining Juventus three years ago. Rabiot started 28 matches in Serie A last season.
Meanwhile, United were expected to go back in with an improved offer for Bologna's Marko Arnautovic, but have pulled out of their pursuit to move on to other targets
United had a bid of £7.6m (€9m) euros for the striker rejected over the weekend, Sky in Italy reported. The asking price was believed to be more than what United were prepared to pay.
Bologna sporting director Marco Di Vaio looked to close the door on Manchester United's attempts to sign Arnautovic, claiming the forward is "priceless".
Sky in Italy reported on Sunday that United had a bid of approximately £7.6m turned down by Bologna for the 33-year-old, and are expected to return with an improved offer.
"We want to keep going with Arnautovic and keep him, he's at the centre of our project," Di Vaio told Italia 1.
"Bologna's wish now is to keep our current team and strengthen it in order to have an important season. Money is not the issue, Marko is priceless for us."
Former Manchester United target Benjamin Sesko has joining RB Leipzig from sister club Red Bull Salzburg for a fee of £20m.
The 19-year-old Slovenia striker will sign a deal until 2028 and is expected to be loaned back to the Austrian club until 2023. He will continue to play for Salzburg this season.
The agreement will not impact on Leipzig's deal for Chelsea striker Timo Werner.
Asked about Manchester United's bid for Arnautovic on Super Sunday, Gary Neville said he was not surprised and admits deals like this are becoming a "pattern" for his former side.
"The first thing you do when the phone rings from Manchester United is reject the bid, because the reality of it is after losing that game against Brighton on Sunday, they're actually negotiating from an even worse position than they were on Saturday, and that's an even bigger problem for them," Neville said.
"I've got a comment on everything in the world, apart from Manchester United signing Marko Arnautovic. I've got nothing to say.
"We've seen Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Odion Ighalo - desperate, it's a pattern. It's happening time and time again. I don't even get angry or animated about it anymore. I'm not going to comment about it."
Micah Richards added: "What has happened to Manchester United, seriously? I'm not going to stick the boot in. Arnautovic was a quality player, but he's 33 playing in Italy."
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