If Manchester United sign Adrien Rabiot, he’ll be able to play immediately because of a strange loophole involving Rasmus Hojlund.
Free agents can still join Premier League clubs despite the transfer window in England closing, but that comes with some caveats.
Top-flight teams will soon submit their finalised squad lists, but should Man United then bring in Rabiot, he can get directly involved.
The France international is a free agent, meaning he can be picked up outside of the transfer window and has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for a while now.
Given Erik ten Hag lost Scott McTominay in the summer and Casemiro appears to be a fading force, a player with the quality and experience of Rabiot would be a good addition to his squad.
From the Frenchman’s point of view, he has set his sights on remaining in Europe’s top leagues and an extra benefit to Man United is that he wouldn’t have to wait until January to be registered.
Why could Man United register Rabiot after the squad deadline?
The deadline for Premier League teams to submit their 25-man squads for the first half of the season is on Saturday, September 14.
Free agents can be immediately registered at any time throughout the year providing there’s space or the player is under the age of 21.
Fortunately for Rabiot, while he doesn’t qualify for the latter, two of his potential future Man United teammates can help open up availability in the squad for his arrival.
There are a maximum of 17 spots for non-homegrown stars permitted in the Premier League’s 25-player squads.
Ten Hag currently has that exact amount, but crucially, footballers aged under 21 don’t have to be registered as part of the senior team.
The unique provision behind that ruling means Hojlund, who is already 21, qualifies and won’t take up an NHG place for another season, allowing Rabiot to be registered by Man United.
Manchester United first-team squad
Goalkeepers: Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton*.
Defenders: Diogo Dalot, Jonny Evans*, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire*, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw*, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro (U21), Harry Amass (U21)
Midfielders: Manuel Ugarte, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount*, Kobbie Mainoo (U21), Toby Collyer (U21), Dan Gore (U21)
Forwards: Antony, Joshua Zirkzee, Amad Diallo, Marcus Rashford*, Alejandro Garnacho (U21), Rasmus Hojlund (U21), Ethan Wheatley (U21)
Homegrown *
The Premier League states that for the 2024/25 campaign, any player born on or after January 1, 2003, can be counted as U21.
That includes Hojlund, despite the Denmark international turning 22 during the course of the season in February.
Alejandro Garnacho also qualifies for the current campaign and the next, dropping the Red Devils total to 15 senior non-homegrown players – one below the threshold if Rabiot signs.
So, should the 29-year-old midfielder join at any point between now and January, he could be registered in the squad and play.
Since leaving Juventus in the summer, Rabiot has been unable to find himself a new club.
The former Paris Saint-Germain man had an offer from the Serie A giants to remain in Turn, but he turned it down.
Liverpool, Newcastle, Real Madrid and United were all linked with moves for the versatile Frenchman, but nothing materialised.
Even now that the transfer windows in Spain and England are closed, no European team has come forward with an offer for Rabiot.
However, Man United came close to signing him during Ten Hag’s first transfer window only to see a potential deal reportedly collapse due to the player’s wage demands.
But his agent, his mother Veronique, has revealed that the club and player are on good terms, opening up the possibility of a move.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, she said: We are on excellent terms with Manchester United.”
She also denied claims that Rabiot’s potential transfer in 2022 collapsed due to the player’s wage demands.
“All false. United wanted to meet me to illustrate their interest in Adrien, but we never talked about money in detail because he quickly decided to stay in Turin.”
Certainly, the signs are positive if Man United decide to make a move for Rabiot, while they’ll be able to register him thanks to Hojlund.
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- Brighton 8/13 – Draw 11/4 – Everton 17/4
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