Newcastle United have reportedly submitted an offer to secure the services of Adrien Rabiot, but the 27-year-old wants to play in the UEFA Champions League.
According to a report from Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, as relayed by Sport Witness, Newcastle United have submitted an offer to Juventus to sign French midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who is also being pursued by Manchester United and Chelsea. However, the player has turned down a move to Tyneside as he wants to play in the Champions League next season.
Rabiot first burst onto the scene at Paris Saint-Germain, where he made a reputation as one of the most highly-rated young midfielders in Europe. He joined Juventus from PSG on a free transfer in 2019, and it has been quite a fall from grace for the French international since then.
The 27-year-old has notched 129 appearances for the Bianconeri and has been constantly in and out of the side in his first couple of seasons. His last campaign, though, was slightly better. Rabiot made 45 appearances in all competitions, with his defensive output impressing more than his attacking prowess or creativity, given his tally of just 2 assists.
Despite his inconsistency for club and country in recent years, Rabiot appears to have no shortage of elite suitors, with PSG, Manchester United, and Chelsea all interested in acquiring his services. But only cash-rich Newcastle United have come forward to make a formal offer for the French international. However, the Magpies have had to face rejection from the player, who only wants to move to a UEFA Champions League club.
Newcastle United are a team on the rise under Eddie Howe, and singing someone of Rabiot’s wealth of experience, versatile profile, and stature to St. James’ Park for a reasonable fee would only have boosted their prospects of attracting even more high-profile players in the future for their project.
The 6ft 2in Frenchman needs to bring his career back on track and would likely be driven to put on impressive performances as he looks to reaffirm his spot in Didier Deschamps’s squad for the World Cup later this year.
Having said that, his extravagant wages could have proven to be a stumbling block for Newcastle United, upsetting the applecart at the club as well. Furthermore, going by his past performances with PSG and Juventus, the 27-year-old would likely be a luxury player. So Newcastle may well have dodged a bullet here.
I thought he’d already turned us down.