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A cursory glance at Manchester United’s options in midfield for the current season shows that the club are lacking depth and they are an injury away from a full-blown crisis.
Casemiro is struggling at the base of the midfield and has been singled out for severe criticism with fans clamouring for new recruit Manuel Ugarte to be handed his debut against Southampton.
Erik ten Hag has tried to play down expectations on the Uruguayan and opting for the former Paris Saint-Germain star could lead to a rift in the dressing room involving Ugarte and Casemiro.
Further upfront, Kobbie Mainoo is a sureshot starter and Christian Eriksen is unlikely to receive too many starts in big games due to his ageing legs. This is likely to be his final season in red.
Lack of midfield depth
Mason Mount is currently injured and an injury to Mainoo, who has been overplayed by both club and country, could leave Ten Hag short after the club decided to sell Scott McTominay against the manager’s wishes while not bringing back Sofyan Amrabat.
That is exactly why the rumour mill has not stopped linking the Red Devils with a move for free agent Adrien Rabiot while another free agent in Yusuf Yazici is unlikely to receive a dream move to Old Trafford.
As for the Frenchman, there has been interest from all across the Premier League and Europe with the former Juventus star ruling out a move to both Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.
There were concerns at United over the player’s demands, as seen during Ten Hag’s first season in charge when the 20-time English league champions keep mighty close to signing the France international only for wage demands to stall the deal.
And as per Givemesport, Rabiot’s camp has now asked for £220,000-a-week for him to sign which is unlikely to be accepted by INEOS.
He has not had a proper pre-season and has not played for sometime now, which means the 29-year-old will take time to get up to speed, something the Red Devils cannot afford at the moment.
Rabiot demands
“Manchester United and Arsenal have been told that they must pay £220,000-a-week if they want to sign free agent Adrien Rabiot, and GIVEMESPORT sources have revealed that the midfielder could find it difficult to secure a move to the Premier League as a result.
“However, Rabiot’s wage demands start at around £220,000-per-week – and his lack of first-team football and pre-season training means that he could cost clubs up to £2 million in wages, given that it could take him up to two months to be fit for Premier League standards.”
As pointed out by the report, this could hand AC Milan the advantage and they could potentially land the player on a cheaper deal with the midfield running out of options.
While Rabiot would certainly have solved quite a few problems for Ten Hag, it makes little sense to overpay for the player given his current physical condition.
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