Barcelona are reportedly willing to bide their time to prise Adrien Rabiot away from Paris Saint-Germain, but Juventus could complicate matters.
The Catalan giants have already been busy in midfield this summer, as they’ve seen Andres Iniesta and Paulinho leave before replacing them with Arthur and Arturo Vidal.
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However, their work in that department might not yet be over as Mundo Deportivo claim that Rabiot is still a target, but the Spanish giants believe that they’re in a strong position and will not rush a deal through and are perhaps even prepared to wait until January.
The 23-year-old’s current contract expires next summer and so he’ll be available on a free transfer. Nevertheless, if a sensible deal can be done now, it’s suggested that Barcelona are willing to spend money on the French international.
That touted strategy of staying patient could be tested though, as Calciomercato, via the paper edition of La Stampa, report that Juventus could make a last ditch move to snap up the €20m-rated midfield ace.
The key difference for the two touted interested parties is that the transfer window closes in Italy on Friday, whereas it remains open in Spain until August 31.
In turn, if Juve choose to make their move for Rabiot in the next 48 hours, then Barcelona will have no choice but to abandon their supposed tactics as suggested by Mundo Deportivo and do their best to avoid losing out to their Italian rivals.
It’s easy to see why Rabiot would be of interest to both European giants as not only does he possess great technical quality and potential to improve further, but he has developed a winning mentality and pedigree at PSG over the last few years and given his reported valuation, it would surely be an astute addition for either side.