Manchester United has shifted their focus to French international Adrien Rabiot after the move for their number one summer transfer priority Frenkie de Jong seems impossible.
The Red Devils have failed to convince the Dutch international to move to Old Trafford. The transfer saga seems to have taken a little twist as Paris Saint Germain and Chelsea are all rumored to be interested in the 25-year-old.
Adrien Rabiot’s deal looks almost certain as Manchester United and Juventus had agreed to the £15 million transfer fee.
However, Rio Ferdinand thinks Adrien Rabiot is a talented football and could improve Manchester United.
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What did Rio Ferdinand say about Manchester United’s move for Adrien Rabiot?
The Manchester United Legend explained on his YouTube channel Vibe with Five, saying: “There’s no doubting that Rabiot is a seriously talented footballer. Great left foot, brilliant at carrying the ball and dribbling and taking the ball under pressure, can pass – very well over short distances especially.
“The position Man United probably sees playing him is one of the holding players, or an eight. My biggest concern with that is that, if he’s going to be an eight, he doesn’t score enough goals.
“I think McTominay has got more goals over the last couple of seasons than him and he doesn’t get enough either.
“So will the fanbase be happy? Given that they’ve been going for Frenkie de Jong, Rabiot is obviously the second, third or fourth option. They’ve been waiting for the Frenkie de Jong situation to change and it hasn’t so this is a reactive signing.
“They thought they were getting Frenkie de Jong, “No, we ain’t getting him, we better go for someone else, who’s available?” And it’s not always the best-case scenario when that happens.
“I think it will be a risk. I don’t see the fee being much more than £ 20 million, in today’s market it’s cheap considering. But at the same time, the biggest concern is: is he right for Manchester United? Is he going to make us a team that’s going to challenge stronger for Champions League positions? I don’t know.
“He’s played a lot of games for Juventus recently, he was at Paris Saint-Germain, he’s a France international. But for me, he’s obviously a step down from Frenkie de Jong.
“I interviewed David Luiz when he was at PSG and Rabiot was still there and he said, “Rio, one of the most talented players here is Rabiot. But he just needs to get himself right, get his mindset right, his attitude right. If he gets that right he could be unplayable, unstoppable”.
“He hasn’t got to those heights that someone like David Luiz was expecting in terms of ability yet – but could this be the move that does that for him?
“But, again, this is a reactive move. This is the second, third or fourth option for Manchester United and this isn’t what we’re about. Normally Man United has a couple of options and says, “This is the player we want” and back in the day we go and get him. Doesn’t matter who else is at the table, but it just shows you how things have changed.
“Rabiot coming in, I don’t think it’s as gloomy as everyone thinks. He adds quality, whether he ups the levels on what we’ve got remains to be seen.”
