No. I don't want any midfielders signed in the summer. Get some defenders and an exciting winger.

Rabiot is a free agent this summer I think.

Either way I don't want Rabiot either. We were linked to Nicolo Barella in January. I'd much, much rather we got him if we're looking for midfielders.

I wouldn’t mind if we got him on a free and sold Xhaka. Seems unlikely though given the number of clubs in for him.

Qwiss! wrote:

No. I don't want any midfielders signed in the summer. Get some defenders and an exciting winger.

why not? without ramsey or ozil in there, the midfield is very low on creativity. i think we badly need a quality string-pulling midfielder. not saying rabiot is the answer, but we need someone a bit more creative and mobile in there

goon wrote:

I wouldn’t mind if we got him on a free and sold Xhaka. Seems unlikely though given the number of clubs in for him.

I was cool on Rabiot before, but I like your suggestion. We need to clear out a lot of players this summer and start replacing. The more we can save capital costs by bringing in high quality youth like Rabiot the better. That saves us money that we can then put towards a good central defender and/or good wide forward. Xhaka money can go into that fund. Torreira, Rabiot, Guendouzi is a promising threesome to build around. If need be, bring in a cheap veteran as well

Even leaving aside his toxic character he'd demand north of 200kpw. Don't want him anywhere near the club

I wouldn't pay him over 200k. Around 150-180k should suffice as he is quite talented. As a free transfer, over 5 years that gives a you a 37-45m pound total cost to company. And if it doesn't work out, we own the rights and can profit on a trade. We can insert some behavioral clauses and tell his mom to chill.
He is 23. Maybe he outgrows the toxicity and becomes independent from his mom, and fulfills his potential. Given our financial constraints, I'd be willing to look at that versus Xhaka and/or Elneny, and then put money towards all the other areas of the field where we are in real trouble

I think we are going to be 'linked' to a number of players as free agents over the summer because of our financial scenario.

As for Rabiot AW was after him for a number of years. If Emery likes / trusts him and thinks he fits the role requirements then I'm prepared to let him go after him.

A CM of Rabiot, Guendouzi and Torreira would be relatively young but have the skill and athleticism to counter most midfields. Would set us up for the next 5 years if they can behave and stay healthy

Yep. On paper that looks a solid trio. I don't think a structured 200k deal is that bad given he's on a free.

The bad part is that he's a douchebag, and like Jones said not the kind of douchebag that other fans will dislike while we love him. He can be really toxic. On the other hand his best season did come under Emery iirc. He was immense the first leg against Barca. Dembele and Auba refused to play for Dortmund as well, and nobody minds them.

Not loving a Rabiot, Guendouzi and Torreira midfield partnership myself. Think you'd be asking (requiring) Torreira to sit, as Guendouzi and Rabiot typically play a little further forward. From what we've seen of Torreira he seems to play better if he's not the deepest midfielder, so too Guendouzi.

Oh, I was thinking of them as 3 of 2 in the pivot. I loved how Torreira and Guendouzi played together as a partnership on the weekend. I think we can unshackle ourselves from Xhaka.

We are absolute beggars with regards to the central midfield position, and it directly affects our control of the game - with and without the ball. This is the reason why when we had the debate back in the day between Ramsey and Cazorla, despite Ramsey having superior “numbers”, it was clear to me we needed a Cazorla type in there as the first option. We need Rabiot or someone like him to rid us of Xhaka, or at least make him into a squad member.

I am ready to ignore or deal with whatever baggage he comes with if he gives us that midfield control and consistency which we so desperately lack.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

The bad part is that he's a douchebag, and like Jones said not the kind of douchebag that other fans will dislike while we love him. He can be really toxic. On the other hand his best season did come under Emery iirc. He was immense the first leg against Barca. Dembele and Auba refused to play for Dortmund as well, and nobody minds them.

His performances on the field are what count as far as I’m concerned.
Like those imitation colognes : if you “loved” Litchsteiner, you would “love” Rabiot.

And Litchst is shit and old while Rabiot is young and kwalitee

That's actually the opposite of what I meant. Lichtsteiner is the kind of douchebag  that fans of other teams hate, while Rabiot potentially can have a negative effect on our dressing room, something Lichtsteiner never would.

Fans of our team hate Lichsteiner too. Just ask flobaba

Not the same thing, but sure.