THE VIEW FROM ITALY: Adrien Rabiot has become a technical, tactical and financial problem at Juventus and is one of the most unpopular players…who knows why Erik ten Hag wants him at Man United
- Manchester United have agreed a £15m deal for Adrien Rabiot from Juventus
- The Serie A side will not be sad to see the midfielder leave after three bad years
- Rabiot has become a technical, tactical and financial problem for Juve’s coaches
- His presence on the pitch is highlighted by his thick hair rather than his performances
By Alvise Cagnazzo for Mailonline
Published: 08:53, August 9, 2022 | Updated: 09:04, August 9, 2022
It’s fair to say Juventus won’t be sad to see Adrien Rabiot leave should his move to Manchester United go through.
The Red Devils have agreed a £15m deal for the midfielder and, although personal terms have yet to be negotiated with his agent and his mother, the transfer is expected to be completed in the coming days .
Rabiot is just one of several failed signings made by Tottenham director of football Fabio Paratici when he was in charge of Juventus.
Manchester United have agreed a £15m deal for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot
The 27-year-old has scored six goals in 127 appearances for La Vella and has shown he is not good enough for the top level.
In other words, Erik ten Hag will bring one of Juventus’ most unpopular players to the Premier League and save the Serie A side around £6 million a year in wages in the process.
Why Ten Hag wants to sign Rabiot is anyone’s guess. He can play on the wing but is not comfortable there, struggles to get behind defenses and his goalscoring performance is underwhelming.
The Frenchman is perhaps best suited to play in a two-man central midfield partnership. He is a similar player to Emmanuel Petit but offers less charisma and leadership qualities.
It is not clear why Erik ten Hag wants to sign a player who has struggled so much in Serie A
It’s fair to say Juventus won’t be sad to see the Frenchman leave the club this summer
Rabiot’s mother, Veronique, has a reputation for being a tough negotiator on behalf of her son.
There was a sense of relief at PSG when Rabiot was sacked three years ago because he didn’t fit the team tactically and didn’t fit the squad as a personality.
His environment also presented other unwanted problems. This is partly due to the reputation that has been bestowed on his mother, Veronique, who has clashed with game figures during her son’s career.
Veronique represents Rabiot and is said to have clashed with the star’s teammates and sporting directors, as well as demanding to meet managers and attend training sessions to ensure her son was treated and served in the right way.
She has previously demanded to go on a pre-season tour when her son signed his first professional forms at PSG, while she was partly responsible for his relegation to the reserves at the same club over wage demands.
She would claim because of this incident that her son was “hostage” by the club and this equated to him soon being in “prison” and only fed on “bread and water”.
Juventus signed him to become a problem for rivals, but in recent months he has become a technical, tactical and financial problem for the Italian club, who are in the process of reviewing their budget.
Rabiot has become a tactical and financial problem for Juve managers such as Max Allegri
Against Cagliari last season, Rabiot’s performance was the worst of his career as he touched the ball just 16 times in 69 minutes of play, too few to justify a £6m-a-year salary .
The midfielder is a shy goldfish in a carnivorous fishbowl. A pony in a thoroughbred horse race. A stain on clean glass. His presence on the pitch is highlighted by his thick hair rather than his performances.
In Italy it is said that “even a broken clock tells the exact time twice a day” and that tells the story of a player who has had disastrous statistics in the last three years in Turin.
Rabiot has also proved a difficult player to manage for several Juventus managers and is one of the clearest examples of how a player bought for free cannot be a top player.
He has weighed in on Juventus and as soon as Denis Zakaria arrived from Borussia Monchengladbach in January, the Old Lady quickly realized their future was much brighter without Rabiot.