Manchester United are only pursuing a transfer for Adrien Rabiot after being beaten to Erik ten Hag’s preferred option of Fabian Ruiz.
United have reportedly agreed a deal in principle with Juventus to sign Rabiot – a day after suffering a miserable 2-1 defeat by Brighton in their opening Premier League fixture. Ten Hag opted to start the match with Scott McTominay and Fred in midfield, but both struggled and were substituted in a galling loss which underlined the need for new players.
Frenkie de Jong remains United’s primary target for the role, given his connection to Ten Hag at previous club Ajax, but the club are beginning to explore other options, with the saga dragging on with Barcelona. United have until September 1 to bolster their midfield, which was seriously depleted following the departures of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard.
