Man City boss Pep Guardiola could receive a marquee signing next year as it’s claimed that the Premier League champions hold a major advantage in the pursuit of Adrien Rabiot.
As per The Express, the Frenchman has also attracted the interest of Barcelona with the Catalan giants even tipped to have secured an agreement for his services.
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However, the 23-year-old is a man in demand particularly given his current contract expires at the end of the season, and so he could be available on a free transfer next summer.
Calciomercato report that both AC Milan and Juventus are also keen on snapping him up, but Man City hold the crucial advantage in that they’re touted as the only side capable of paying his wage demands of €7m a year.
In turn, it remains to be seen if that puts them in pole position for the signing of the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, but they could certainly do with adding him to the squad.
Fernandinho turns 34 next year and continues to carry a heavy workload in the deep midfield role, and so securing Rabiot could give Guardiola an extra option in that department, and a very classy one at that.
The French international has great technical quality and passing range, and so he would seemingly be a great fit at the Etihad with Guardiola’s preferred style of play in mind.
Should they genuinely be the only side who can afford to go that high and satisfy Rabiot’s wage demands, that could be a telling factor. Nevertheless, the opportunity to play for Barcelona or perhaps in Italy could be an attractive challenge for the player, and so time will tell if the financial reasons outweigh the football ones.