Adrien Rabiot - Free Agent

INEOS wouldn't have issue with that
Probably not but we need sales in midfield of more than just McT. Ugarte and Rabiot would be great additions and upgrades to our midfield straightaway.

Also Mainoo will need to have his minutes for new season managed or risk burnout.
 
Probably not but we need sales in midfield of more than just McT. Ugarte and Rabiot would be great additions and upgrades to our midfield straightaway.

Also Mainoo will need to have his minutes for new season managed or risk burnout.

McTominay,Eriksen and Hanninal
 
Also Mainoo will need to have his minutes for new season managed or risk burnout

We're the only club in the world that takes this approach of overly shielding our young talent. Hasn't really worked out, has it?
 
Rabbit would add great physicality to the midfield, and if he could be signed for <200k per week it would be a good deal. We need to get some midfielders out the door sooner rather than later though.
 
We're the only club in the world that takes this approach of overly shielding our young talent. Hasn't really worked out, has it?
This is possibly the most untrue statement I've ever seen on this forum
 
We're the only club in the world that takes this approach of overly shielding our young talent. Hasn't really worked out, has it?
How's that worked out for Gavi and Pedri at Barca? Playing CM regularly that early on isn't easy, you need to manage it well. Fabregas was an outlier, Wilshere, Pedri, Gavi show minutes management is key. Even if it's resting midweek games against weaker opponents but surely not playing every single game.
 
We're the only club in the world that takes this approach of overly shielding our young talent. Hasn't really worked out, has it?

In this case, it's more about our lack of depth. Whoever is currently deemed a starter is going to have to play a lot of minutes without rest. We need quality depth and rotational options.
 
We're the only club in the world that takes this approach of overly shielding our young talent. Hasn't really worked out, has it?

This is wildly untrue.

As per The Athletic, one of the issues that was raised in Wilcox's meetings with ETH was that we were overplaying players like Mainoo, Garnacho and Hojlund last season.

Only Dalot and Fernandes played more minutes than Hojlund & Garnacho last season, despite Hojlund missing 9 games through injury and Garnacho only making 3 starts before November. After that they were run into the ground, with Garnacho being one of only three teenagers to play more than 2,500 outfield minutes across Europe’s five major leagues last season. And Mainoo only falls behind due to missing the first three months of the season through injury, still ending up within the top 8 in our squad for minutes last season.
 
No problem signing him as long as the signing on fee and wages arent unreasonable.
 
If we can sign Rabiot for a reasonable sign-on fee and similar wages to what he has at Juve, I think this would be a good addition to the squad. We know that we need to strengthen the midfield, but we also know that we cannot fix everything in one window. If Rabiot in means that we can sell the likes of Casemiro and Eriksen, I think we will be far better off. We would still have to bring in another DM or two, though.

I think the INEOS strategy of signing younger players, is mostly related to the high-profile signings with high transfer fees and/or stupid wages. So we would hopefully not see more of splashing huge fees at Casemiro, Varane, Alexis Sanchez etc. at massive wages, but maybe utility players at free transfers with moderate salaries.

I also thing Guido Rodriguez and Mario Hermoso would be excellent candidates. If these types of signings allows us to shift players like Casemiro, Eriksen, Maguire and Lindelöf, strengthen the squad, and allow us to spend big on younger high-profile signings, I am all in.
 
What would INEOS define fair on both counts?

Who knows honestly. They were happy to spend a little more on Zirkzee and happy to blow everyone else away in order to secure Yoro so I dont see them baulking at costs vs value/benefit to a certain extent.

But luckily the decision will be made by footballing people this time instead of randomly offering him an excessive contract on stupid wages like the previous regime would have.
 
Who knows honestly. They were happy to spend a little more on Zirkzee and happy to blow everyone else away in order to secure Yoro so I dont see them baulking at costs vs value/benefit to a certain extent.

But luckily the decision will be made by footballing people this time instead of randomly offering him an excessive contract on stupid wages like the previous regime would have.

Yeah I'm confident they will have figures in mind for wages, contract length and signing on fee. They do also seem like people who have room for negotiation provided it's not excessive
 
I dont think we would get both. One or the other imho. Unless we shifted out more than just mctominay to make space for one of them.
Ye I’m going of if Casemiro and Mctominay both leave.
 
if Rabiot can play and have a similar effect as Fabian Ruiz then it's worth the gamble
 
Definitely worth the gamble but remains to be seen whether INEOS decide to give him an offer
true...looks like they are deciding between the four of xavi, olmo, ugarte and rabiot but probably spending more time trying to figure out how to move McT and Casemiro to make room

i mean if it's a free and only costs you wages with no signing bonus, i don't see the negative impact of making him an offer.
 
It’s more about where we are at the club. We have to build a lot at United and it takes time. For this stage that we are in, I much prefer the Arsenal approach of buying 25 and under so that you are able to mould and develop players with the system and someone not working is not a total disaster. When you sign the Casemiro’s and Rabiot’s, there’s no scope for growth, change or missteps and them struggling becomes a burden on the club with little to no takers.

Arsenals approach isnt to just sign under 25s. Arteta has signed partey, trossard and jorginho off the top of my head if he thinks they can add to the squad. Signing under 25s is an unrealistic approach. You still need some experience.
 
true...looks like they are deciding between the four of xavi, olmo, ugarte and rabiot but probably spending more time trying to figure out how to move McT and Casemiro to make room

i mean if it's a free and only costs you wages with no signing bonus, i don't see the negative impact of making him an offer.

Well obviously the money used on the signing bonus and the wages cant be used on another player anymore. The signing bonus and the wages will also be higher because there is no transfer fee.
 
Well obviously the money used on the signing bonus and the wages cant be used on another player anymore. The signing bonus and the wages will also be higher because there is no transfer fee.
if there is a signing bonus...then the deal for Rabiot would be off b/c as you've mentioned, that money couldn't be utilized to bring in someone else

to me then that wouldn't be a free transfer as you're still paying a "transfer" fee but now just in a different way as a signing bonus
 
I think he would offer some of the better traits that Casemiro and McTominay do — aerial dominance, stamina and physical stature, goals from midfield — and I’d be content if we’re selling those two and picking up Rabiot and another, but it’s another midfielder who isn’t really that much of an insightful or high volume passer.
 
Disappointed if it's off. Rabiot is a good player and worth a punt on a fee.

We'll most likely need two midfielder and to get rid of uninterested deadwood like Casemiro, mediocrity like McTom and the infirm Eriksen.

Perhaps Collyer can be promoted? Ugarte and Basque Z dude are uninspiring.
 


Disappointed that it looks unlikely, as I feared that French journo jumped the gun way too early. Rare occasion that I'm wishing Ducker wasn't tier 1 for Utd.
 
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This is good news. We need deLigt and Ugarte. Links to Rabiot were worrying, and Simons was totally left field having just signed Zirkzee.
There are better players fitting our target group, indeed. And we dont need his mama manager either