Manchester United's midfield woes have seemingly convinced Erik ten Hag to pull the trigger on a shock move for Adrien Rabiot - three years after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deemed an approach for the Frenchman to be too risky.
United have been in the market for an elite defensive midfielder this summer and have been trying to strike a deal for Ten Hag's top transfer target, Frenkie de Jong. However, the Barcelona ace has not given any indication that he would be open to a move to Old Trafford - leaving Ten Hag's plans in limbo.
With De Jong's long-term future still unclear, United have started to consider other targets; namely Rabiot. A new report from the Manchester Evening News has outlined that United have agreed a fee with Juventus for the 27-year-old, who is now inside the final 12 months of his current deal at the Allianz Arena.
Juventus have significantly bolstered their midfield options over the course of the past year, leaving Rabiot on the fringes in Turin. And an influx of fresh talent in the Juventus engine room could pave the way for Rabiot to finally join Manchester United after previous interest.
Back in 2019, Solskjaer and Ed Woodward mulled over a move for Rabiot, who was then on the books at Paris Saint-Germain. The midfielder was available for nothing after running down his contract at Juventus - but there were concerns over Rabiot's attitude, and United ended up passing on a deal.
Rabiot, who would go on to join Juventus on a free transfer later that summer, has fallen out with a string of managers during his career, although his stint in Serie A has been relatively drama-free.
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While De Jong remains Ten Hag's top target, the Dutchman is under pressure to bolster his midfield after both Scott McTominay and Fred produced underwhelming performances in Sunday's shock 2-1 defeat against Brighton.
And if De Jong is set to be unattainable, then Ten Hag will have no choice but to move onto alternative targets in the coming weeks - and that could be enough to convince him to overlook Solskjaer's previous concerns and press ahead with a move for Rabiot.
Speaking in the wake of Sunday's defeat to Brighton, Roy Keane made it clear that Fred and McTominay are not good enough for United. He said: "The decision making and the football intelligence, in particular from Fred - and I've said it for a long time - Fred and McTominay are not good enough.
"They won't get Man United back competing at the top, we see it week in week out… not up to it. They had to gamble in the second half and Eriksen is probably in his position when he drops back and he's picking up people but too little too late."
