Liverpool Remain Contenders in Messy Rabiot Chase

Delightful drama surrounds the 23-year old’s future.

Adrien Rabiot is an excellent, young footballer. Adrien Rabiot’s contract runs out this summer. These two factors are always liable to combine for some sort of transfer drama. When you add the fact that Rabiot’s current club and Rabiot’s most ardent suitor have previous transfer quarrels souring their relationship, things are likely to get extra spicy.

18 months ago, Paris Saint-Germain triggered Neymar’s €223m release clause and offered him an eye-watering €600k per week salary, snatching the Brazilian away from Barcelona, and putting the blaugranes in the sort of position they regularly place others, but rarely face themselves. It was a statement of intent from PSG, meant to signal their arrival into European football’s top echelon. Things have been tense ever since.

Barcelona’s resulting interest in getting one over on their French rivals — as well as their aging midfield — has seen the Catalonians approach Rabiot with a contract offer, illegally, according to some. These reports forced the club to release a statement on Sunday, denying the existence of any such deal.

Reports out of French outlet L’Equipe, suggest that the midfielder remains on the market, and Liverpool remain a plausible destination. The 23-year old has refused to sign a new contract, resulting in his expulsion from the first team, and his agent has confirmed that her son will be plying his trade elsewhere from the summer on. PSG, then, are interested in moving Rabiot on in January, cutting out a disruptive element and making some money in the process.

Tottenham are reportedly — and rightly — interested, but are unlikely to meet the 23-year old’s £180k wages demands, so it looks set to be a battle between Barca’s shamelessness and Liverpool’s thoughts about their long-term midfield depth. Rabiot is an excellent player, and with James Milner’s ironclad body beginning to show signs of wear as he enters his 34th year, and Jordan Henderson consistently picking up injuries every season, the Reds could do worse than a cut-price deal for a major talent.

Whether Jürgen Klopp sufficiently rates Rabiot to make him a genuine target remains up in the air, and there have been no reporting indicating as much from club-connected journalists on Merseyside, but one thing is for certain; there will be more twists and turns in the Rabiot transfer saga before all is said and done.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com