Everton have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Adrien Rabiot, with Juventus’ sporting director Fabio Paratici telling Sky Italia that the 25-year-old will be “very important” for the Old Lady. Everton are on the hunt for a new central midfielder and have been linked with Rabiot for a number of months, but it doesn’t appear they’ll be successful landing his signature.
Paratici said: “Let’s not forget that Rabiot is in his first year in Italy, and the first one is always a particular year. At the beginning of the season we were able to question even De Ligt, who arrived as the best defender of the Champions League at the age of 19, while now I feel different opinions about him.
“Rabiot also arrived from the PSG for 6 months of inactivity, had to catch up with his physical condition. Having said that he is a great player, very important for Juventus today and for the future.” Rabiot joined Juve on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain last summer and has gone on to make 27 appearances in all competitions.
The French international struggled for playing time during the first half of his debut season, amassing only 331 minutes of Serie A football between August and mid-December, but he did feature more regularly in 2020 – 10/11 league appearances.
Rabiot hasn’t had the best season in Italy but it doesn’t look like he’ll be sold this summer. His market value is £22.95m, but it would likely take a much bigger offer for Juve to cash in.
Everton have been linked with Allan, Angelo Fulgini, Franck Kessie, Morgan Sanson, Mohammed Kudus, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Davide Frattesi, Matias Vecino, John McGinn and Idrissa Gueye, so they have alternatives to the midfielder.