Juventus ´love´ Pogba and want Rabiot – Paratici

Juventus “love” Paul Pogba and have made a move for Adrien Rabiot, the Serie A club’s sporting director Fabio Paratici has revealed.

Pogba has been heavily linked with a return to his former club, though Real Madrid are also reportedly interested in signing the Manchester United midfielder.

Rabiot, meanwhile, is out of contract at Paris Saint-Germain, though he has not played a senior match in 2019 following his refusal to sign a new deal with the Ligue 1 champions.

And Paratici spoke of Juve’s admiration for both players, confirming Juve had already opened talks with Rabiot.

“They are two great players,” Paratici told a news conference held for Maurizio Sarri’s official presentation as Juve coach.

“Pogba is a Manchester United player. We love him, we made him grow up but he is a Manchester United player.

“We are making an attempt for Rabiot, as with all the players we have in mind. We discussed them with Sarri and soon we will take a decision.”

60 – Since his return to the club in 2016, Paul Pogba has been involved in more goals in all competitions than any other Manchester United player (31 goals, 29 assists). Challenge. pic.twitter.com/8Cq5zd7Sf8

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) 16 June 2019

Paratici also lauded Sarri, insisting the former Napoli boss is the ideal candidate to build on the success of Massimiliano Allegri’s tenure.

“His style of play was not crucial in our reason to change our coach. We have chosen Maurizio because we believe he’s the best coach for Juve in this moment – as, five years ago, was Allegri and, eight years ago, was [Antonio] Conte,” he added.

“These are different types of coaches with different characteristics – they could even be opposites, working with very different styles.

“He has demonstrated his great skills in Italy and the Premier League and at European level as well. We believe he’s the best option for Juve.”

Sarri takes in his new home #WelcomeSarri pic.twitter.com/8mIj9Dso20

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) June 20, 2019

Sarri, meanwhile, refused to be drawn on any specific targets he wishes to sign, claiming Juve’s dealings in the transfer market will be in Paratici’s hands.

“We’ll have to see when we have clear ideas to have a better understanding of what our playing style could be,” Sarri said. 

“I don’t really like making requests on specific names but definitely on the characteristics of the players. I’ll be talking about these things with Fabio.

“I want to convey a message in terms of the characteristics of the players but not the names of the players. He knows many more players than me.

“My task is to prepare for the matches, so I don’t have so much time to travel around the world to see all the players. But Fabio’s skill and confidence is much higher than mine.”