Transfer News: Chelsea to battle Barcelona for Adrien Rabiot signing
According to news from Italian publication Calciomercato, Chelsea are set to rival La Liga giants Barcelona in the transfer race to sign Juventus star Adrien Rabiot.
The 26-year-old joined Juventus in the summer of 2019 from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. However, he has had a difficult couple of years in Turin as he has failed to make the kind of impact expected. Rabiot has largely been a regular in the lineup this season, making 41 appearances in which he has there goals.
However, his uninspiring displays in the middle has led to Juventus deciding to consider letting go of the Frenchman at the end of the season. It is said that the Bianconeri value the former PSG star at around €20m, which has now sparked the interest of Chelsea as well as Barcelona.
In fact, Barcelona are already said to have opened talks with Rabiot’s mother Veronique, who also happens to be his agent, over the possibility of a summer switch to Camp Nou. However, Chelsea are now set to put up a fight for the transfer of the 26-year-old midfielder.
As things stand, Chelsea have four first-team central midfielders in N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho and Billy Gilmour. We will also have several midfielders returning from their loan spells at the end of the season, although the futures of most of them would be away from the club.
Nevertheless, signing someone like Rabiot would end up hampering the development of Gilmour, who is not getting enough game-time as it is. But if one of Kante, Jorginho or Kovacic were to depart in the summer, which does seem highly unlikely, a move for the Frenchman would have made sense.
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Jorginho, however, has time and again flirted with the idea of a return to Italy. Should that materialise this summer, Chelsea should consider securing the transfer of Rabiot to replace him.