John Murtough is clocking up even more Air Miles in a quest to finally land Erik ten Hag a new central midfielder.
The Manchester United Football Director is no stranger to air travel this summer, having already made an unsuccessful trip to Barcelona for Frenkie de Jong. On that occasion, Murtough was flanked by United CEO Richard Arnold in order to engineer a move for Ten Hag’s top transfer target.
Unfortunately for the new Red Devils boss, Murtough and Arnold came back empty handed and a month later, their hopes of signing De Jong are hanging by a thread. In fact, recent reports claim that United are ready to admit defeat in their pursuit of the Netherlands international as yet another embarrassing and unsuccessful transfer saga reaches its conclusion.
To make matters worse, Premier League rivals Chelsea are understood to be in the driving seat, should the Blaugrana persuade De Jong to depart the Camp Nou. United are now looking into potential alternatives for the 25-year-old after their current options emphatically emphasised they are not up to standard.
Ten Hag was forced to start the tried, tested and failed partnership of Fred and Scott McTominay for the Premier League opener vs Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday. And there were no surprises when that duo played a key part in the dismal defeat at the hands of the Seagulls.
With the desperation to find solutions only increasing, United have turned their attention to Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot. It is believed that a fee in the region of £15million has already been agreed with the Bianconeri, with personal terms now standing in the way of an imminent transfer.
That could yet prove to be a tall hurdle to clear however, with his agent and mother Veronique Rabiot famed for her tenacious approach to negotiations. Earlier this week it emerged that Veronique had made it clear she would only deal with Murtough instead of any other intermediary.
The Telegraph report that demand has been met with Murtough set to touch down to Turin in order to thrash out a potential deal. Despite his flight over to Italy, there is said to be a long way to go in order to conclude talks before he is happy to make the switch to the 13-time Premier League winners.
Murtough will need to convince both mother and son that moving to United is still an attractive proposition, despite the lack of Champions League football on offer. Rabiot was reportedly unwilling to move to a club not competing in Europe’s top competition, but could make an exception due to United’s stature in the world game.
There have also been suggestions that the 27-year-old is willing to sacrifice the Champions League due to the fact he believes he would be a guaranteed starter under Ten Hag. Just months away from the World Cup, the French international knows he needs regular minutes to force his way into Didier Deschamps’ squad.
And while that is unlikely-to-impossible with his current team, there is a belief he would have a clear path to consistent minutes, with the likes of Fred and McTominay his only truly viable competition.
