Manchester City are reportedly considering a move for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot this summer and the Frenchman would arguably be a better fit in Pep Guardiola’s side than Borrusia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria.
What’s the word?
According to Calcio Mercato (via Sport Witness), Juventus are planning on selling the former PSG man this summer, which has alerted both Barcelona and Manchester City, who have ‘begun to follow’ the French international.
Despite finding his feet in Turin after a difficult start, it is claimed that Andrea Pirlo wants to make improvements to his midfield in the summer, so Rabiot could be one who is moved on in order to raise some funds for transfers.
A better fit than Zakaria?
Man City have also been heavily linked with a move for Swiss international Denis Zakaria ahead of the summer window and since they both play in midfield, you would imagine that it would be one or the other, rather than both, for the Citizens ahead of next season.
Zakaria is more of a defensive-minded midfielder, whereas Rabiot can play further forward, and yet the 25-year-old Juventus man seemingly has had the edge when it comes to defensive statistics this season.
He has averaged 2.1 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 1.2 aerials won per game in Serie A so far this season, whereas Zakaria has averaged 1.1 tackles, 0.6 interceptions and 0.6 aerials won per game in the Bundesliga.
Who would be the better signing?
Rabiot
Zakaria
The 24-year-old has also struggled with injury problems in recent seasons which seem to have had a serious impact on his performances, as this season has seen him earn a poor 6.4 average rating compared to last season’s superb 7.15/10 average rating in the German top-flight.
Rabiot also triumphs over Zakaria when it comes to passing, as he has averaged far more passes and key passes per game than the Swiss midfielder, whilst his pass accuracy rate, in general, is higher than the Monchengladbach midfielder.
The £28.8 million-rated Rabiot has earned a lot of praise from Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon in his time at the club, with the ‘keeper suggesting in 2019 that:
“He is a fantastic mix, he has the physical strength of Pogba, who is like a wardrobe, has the personality of Vidal and potentially the dynamism of Marchisio.
“He is incredible, extremely strong. He needs to improve his timing when approaching the opponent’s penalty area but he can become a player with 10 goals per season.”
Given Rabiot’s solid performances in Serie A and in the Champions League this season, therefore, you could argue that he would be a better signing than Zakaria this summer, so sporting director Txiki Begiristain should try and bring him to the Etihad.
And, in other news… Txiki should seal City swoop for £31.5m-rated beast who broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s record