Manchester United’s £15m move for Adrien Rabiot ‘is OFF’

Manchester United’s dismal August continued with reports that the club’s pursuit of Adrien Rabiot had collapsed.

The club had chased Rabiot from Juventus following their defeat to Brighton on the opening weekend of the season and had been hopeful of completing a deal for the France international. 

However, the player’s excessive wage demands got in the way of a deal and the move has collapsed, The Athletic reported. 

A renewal of discussions has not been ruled out, it is said, but the club are now exploring alternative options including Real Madrid’s Casemiro. 

The news leaves United in the lurch over where to move next to provide Erik ten Hag with a much needed new central midfielder. 

United had spent the majority of the summer chasing Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong but the difficulty over the completion of that deal meant that the club went back into the market for alternative options. 

Veronique Rabiot, Adrien’s mother, has a fearsome reputation and it had been feared she could scupper a potential deal

A move for De Jong is now described as ‘improbable’ by The Athletic but the outlet added that the club hope to still add a ‘top’ midfielder before the end of the window. 

Rabiot’s proposed move to United always had an air of uncertainty hanging over it with the Frenchman known to demand quite significant wages in conjunction with his mother, Veronique.

Indeed, it was his mother, reports suggest, that demanded the player be on more than United were willing to offer him. It has been reported that the club were willing to put him alongside some of their top earners including Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen but that was not enough for Rabiot’s camp. 

New manager Erik ten Hag has struggled to attract the players he has wanted this summer

The club are now assessing where to go from here. Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, who was superb against them in the club’s 2-1 win at Old Trafford on the opening weekend having been touted as a potential option. 

Regardless of options being discussed, the club’s transfer options now find themselves in disarray with the September 1 deadline looming large. 

With only around two weeks to go until the window slams shut, United have not replaced Paul Pogba nor Nemanja Matic who both departed the club in June on free transfers. 

United endured one of their worst ever defeats on Saturday when they lost away at Brentford 

Supporters are growing increasingly weary at what they see as a club sleepwalking into further crisis. 

Ten Hag has seen his reign as United boss get off to the worst possible start, losing at home to Brighton on the opening weekend before being defeated 4-0 by Brentford on Saturday evening. 

Saturday’s defeat has led to multiple inquests from around the footballing landscape with suggestions that all is not rosy between the new Dutch boss and the club at present.