Manchester United were linked with a move for French midfielder Adrien Rabiot before he joined French side Marseille last summer.
The Red Devils initially approached the 30-year-old over possibly joining them in the summer of 2023, but he decided to extend his stay at Juventus for one more year.
He had a brilliant debut season with Marseille, scoring nine goals and registering five assists, helping them qualify for the Champions League.
The France international has lifted the lid on Man United’s interest in him and why he rejected a move to Old Trafford.
He told the Athletic: “It really could have happened two years ago when I was coming to the end of my contract at Juventus, and I finally decided to extend by a year.
“We had great talks, and there were written offers. But in the end, it didn’t happen.
“Last year as well, when I was free, they came back in again. I had good talks with them again. But it’s true that it was a bit tricky. The situation they’re in at the moment… I felt a bit of reticence about whether United were going to be able to go on and achieve great things. Because they’re in a bit of a hole at the moment.”
Rabiot would have been a good fit for Ruben Amorim
The Marseille star is predominantly a central midfielder and would have been a good fit in the double pivot in manager Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation.
Rabiot is a hard-working midfielder who is a very valuable asset defensively. He registered 4.49 recoveries per 90 in Ligue 1 last term.
The French midfielder also has outstanding aerial prowess, which could have helped United defend set-pieces and given the Red Devils more threat when taking them.
His ability to occupy goalscoring positions or create chances for team-mates would have also helped the Mancunian giants offensively.
Known for doing lay-offs and short passes, he would have helped United dictate games better with Casemiro or Manuel Ugarte as his partner.
United are prioritising their attack this summer, but they should try to sign a midfielder with a similar playing style to Rabiot.
Stats from transfermarkt.com & fotmob.com