Chelsea are interested in signing Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot in the upcoming transfer window, TuttoSport claims.
The Premier League approved the Blues’ takeover bid from the Todd Boehly consortium yesterday and the UK government have since issued the necessary licences.
With the change of ownership, Chelsea’s spending restrictions have been lifted as they are no longer affected by the sanctions on former owner Roman Abramovich.
The Blues can now step up their pursuit of new players. Manager Thomas Tuchel has already emphasised that the club must act quickly in the transfer market.
A number of players have been linked in recent weeks, and TuttoSport report that the Blues are currently interested in bringing Rabiot to Stamford Bridge.
Rabiot has been a mainstay in the Bianconeri midfield under manager Massimiliano Allegri, but he could be on the move amid the lack of progress over a renewal.
With his contract expiring in 13 months’ time, Juventus are keen on making an economic gain on him. They are also aiming to lower their wage bill for next season.
Rabiot could be prised away for a fee between €15-20 million (£13-17m).
Our view:
Rabiot is a central midfielder by trade, but is also comfortable playing in the holding midfield role. He averaged an impressive two tackles per game during the recently-concluded season.
The Blues are currently loaded with several midfield options. N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Saul Niguez were the regulars under Tuchel last term.
Among the quintet, Niguez looks likely to return to Atletico Madrid after a disappointing loan stint. Tuchel may ideally want another experienced midfielder to take the Spaniard’s place.
Rabiot could be a solution with his strong tackling attributes. He could potentially displace one of Kante or Jorginho in the XI. Both players are now in their 30s and have shown signs of regression.
Tuchel has first-hand experience of managing Rabiot at Paris Saint-Germain in 2018/19. He regularly picked him in the line-up until he was suspended by the club for disciplinary reasons.
The German could be eyeing a reunion with the 27-year-old. The low transfer fee should entice the Blues, considering they may need to spend heavily in the backline this summer.
Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are expected to leave a void in central defence with their free transfer exits while left-back Marcos Alonso is also pushing to leave the club.
