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Manchester United look set to potentially lose out on another big transfer target this summer, with Arsenal swooping in as front runners.
The Red Devils aren’t having much luck with recruiting to midfield so far this transfer window.
Key target Joao Neves has recently had the Fabrizio Romano treatment with his famous “here you go” on the wonderkid’s move to PSG. The Ligue 1 side have reportedly signed him for €70 million made up of a €60 million base fee and €10 million in add-ons.
United did submit a bid for the star for the same value, however at the time, Benfica were holding out for bids of over €100 million. Ultimately the Portuguese club caved and gave in to a lower price with PSG securing the star’s signature.
Another midfield star the Red Devils appear to be missing out on is Youssouf Fofana. The AS Monaco man looks set to be snapped up by AC Milan. In the transfer wars this would set United and Milan at 1-1 with the Red Devils beating the Italian side to Joshua Zirkzee.
Now however, United look set to lose out on one of their long-term targets, with the midfielder set to move to London.
United set to lose long-term target to Arsenal
Reports from Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport suggest that Arsenal are front runners to sign veteran midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
The free agent left Juventus at the end of his contract, recently sending his thanks to the Italian club for his time with The Old Lady.
In the recent weeks, United have been negotiating a contract with the ex-PSG star who refused to engage with contract extensions at Juve amid interest from the Red Devils.
However, the article explains that Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are joint favourites to sign the France international, with United dropping down the pecking order.
When discussing the situation, Veronique Rabiot, the star’s mother and agent said: “It’s true, I’m talking to some clubs”.
She continued: “And I’m the only contact. In fact, I am talking to certain clubs but then some media attribute to me contacts with other teams that I do not speak to. So I suppose that other people speak for me.
“But since the beginning of Adrien’s career I have been the only interlocutor with the clubs, and if a club has any interest they must speak directly to me.”
With United’s injuries now starting to mount up in a worrying similarity of last year’s Premier League campaign, the Red Devils may be about to lose out on a free signing which could be a cheaper option of bringing quality talent to Old Trafford.
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