Tottenham are believed to be ready to spend £20million on Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot. Rabiot is out in the cold in the French capital and banished to train with the U23s after refusing to sign a new contract. Rabiot has only made three league starts under Thomas Tuchel this season and he did not travel with the rest of PSG’s squad to their warm-weather training camp in Qatar, with his relationship with his employers at breaking point.
With his contract up in the summer, The Sun claim Tottenham have emerged as favourites to land Rabiot for a cut-price fee of just £20m. Barcelona have now distanced themselves from Rabiot having signed Frenkie de Jong for €75million, leaving Spurs in pole position to land the 23-year-old.
PSG do not want Rabiot to leave for free in the summer, however their believed to be unwilling to see him depart before they have secured a replacement. And Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye is said to be their No. 1 target. If PSG can get their hands on Everton’s Gueye then Daniel Levy is understood to be willing to spend £20m on Rabiot and see Spurs break their transfer duck from the last two windows.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain have declared “commercial war” on Barcelona and will go after Philippe Coutinho, according to a report in France. PSG are understood to be fuming after the Catalan club sealed the signing of Frenkie de Jong from Ajax for €75m this week. Holland international midfielder De Jong was believed to be sporting director Antero Henrique’s No.1 January target, and his move to Catalonia has left a sour taste in the mouth of the Ligue 1 champions.
The feeling is so bad that RMC Sport journalist Daniel Riolo reports that PSG are ready to enter a “commercial war” with Barcelona in revenge for pinching De Jong. That means that PSG, backed by Qatar Sports Investments, are planning on signing Coutinho. The Brazilian has yet to flourish at the Camp Nou since his £142m move from Liverpool last winter. The 26-year-old has scored just four goals in 11 LaLiga starts, but he has not scored since October and speculation has emerged about his future. Last January Coutinho penned a contract until 2023 and he has a €400m release clause, but that has not stopped talk of a move with Don Balon recently claiming Barca would sell Coutinho if they received an offer of €150m.
There have been rumours he could be heading back to England – with Manchester United linked. Liverpool have also been mentioned as suitors to re-sign their former star, while Don Balon on Wednesday stated Coutinho has been the subject of a €100m offer from Chelsea this month as they look to replace Eden Hazard, who is being tipped to sign for Real Madrid this summer.