Adrien Rabiot is reportedly considering his future at Juventus despite only joining in July. The Frenchman moved to Turin from PSG on a free transfer in the summer. But Rabiot has failed to make his presence known and has found himself the odd man out in a crowded midfield.
The 24-year-old has started just two matches across all competitions with Maurizio Sarri preferring to use other options more regularly.
According to Calciomercato, Rabiot’s patience is already running thin at the lack of game time.
He had previously been linked with Barcelona and the Italian outlet claim his representatives have held informal talks with the club regarding a move.
Juventus’ midfield is littered with talent with Rabiot having to compete for central positions against Aaron Ramsey, Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matiudi, Emre Can, Sami Khedira and Rodrigo Bentancur.
And according to Whoscored, Rabiot’s 194 minutes of game time so far means only Emre Can has seen lesser game time than the Frenchman in all of Juventus’ midfield options.
Verdict
Rabiot joined Juventus FC on July 1 on a free transfer after he ran down his contract with PSG. It turns out that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. As per the Guardian, Barcelona was the club he originally agreed to join when his PSG contract ran out and he is now looking to turn towards them once more. But would that be a wise move?
Firstly, Rabiot is, without doubt, a very controversial player and has even had more performances off the pitch than on it. From missing a cup final due to showing up late to a team meeting (ESPN), to turning down a spot on France’s reserve team ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup (ESPN), the Frenchman has not been far from controversy and Barcelona will be aware of this already and might not want to turn to such a player.
There’s no easy way out of this for Rabiot and his mum (his agent) if the report on his frustration at game time is accurate. Maurizio Sarri has plenty of options in his midfield and Rabiot will need to work hard in training and prove he deserves playing time, something he didn’t always do while in Paris.
If he chooses to look for a new team just months after joining Juventus, he should probably look elsewhere other than Barcelona. They too have midfield options and with a large bid for Neymar Jr. likely coming next summer, they don’t need a “luxury” player in Rabiot. Not to mention, Juventus will want to make money off of his transfer and the Catalan club needs to be frugal in order to meet PSG’s asking price for Neymar.
At one time, Rabiot had the world at PSG. He was a France international who came up through PSG’s youth academy and played first-team football regularly. He was a starting midfielder for one of the biggest clubs in Europe and played in massive UEFA Champions League matches. Now, he’s a fringe player lacking any reasonable game time in what is supposed to be the prime stage of his career.
At this point, he might have to settle for a move to a “lesser” side that do need his services and can then aim to build back his reputation once more. As for moving to Barcelona, it would be like jumping from a kettle to the fire itself and he should be wary of making yet another “high-profile” move.
