Manchester United's sudden pursuit of Adrien Rabiot has sparked concern among fans - and suggests Erik ten Hag will ignore David de Gea's advice on new signings.
United's recruitment has been heavily criticised in recent seasons with the club overspending on individual superstars with big egos who don't obviously fit into a particular system. Ten Hag has promised to change this and has already targetted the likes of Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez - understated players he knows well and who have previously performed for him.
Man United are in desperate need of a new central midfielder and have been targetting another player Ten Hag knows well, Barcelona superstar Frenkie de Jong.
The Red Devils have yet been able to convince the Dutchman to sign for United and, as a result, have turned their attention to out-of-favour Juventus midfielder Rabiot, agreeing on a fee with the Serie A club for the Frenchman.
While Rabiot is a talented individual, his controversial past has sparked concern among some Red Devils supporters, who have reacted to the news as you'd expect on social media.
One fan tweeted: "Don't sign Rabiot, it'll do us more harm than good," while another wrote: "Rabiot, no disrespect to him, is exactly what we don't need," and a third said: "Biggest worry with Rabiot is and always will be his attitude. Was at PSG. Is at Juventus. He's going to be awful in the United dressing room."
And it's not just United supporters who harbour similar concerns in regards to signing individuals of the Frenchman's ilk.
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At the end of last season, in which the Red Devils recorded their worst-ever Premier League finish, goalkeeper De Gea called on the new guard to sign players with the right attitude to lead United back to greatness.
He said: "I want to forget this season and be 100 per cent ready for the next season and be positive. It has been horrible, a very bad season in all ways, it has been very tough. It is time to rest and prepare your minds for next season.
"Ones who want to stay, stay at the club. Ones that don't want to stay go out. You don't have to stay here. The new manager and staff are already looking for new players. Hopefully, they bring good ones with good character."
Rabiot made headlines in October 2019 when he was dropped by then PSG manager Thomas Tuchel after he arrived late for a team meeting. He was suspended by the club five months later for going to a nightclub after the Ligue 1 giants were knocked out of the Champions League by Man United.
A year earlier, Rabiot made headlines when he refused to be put on France's standby list for the World Cup.
The midfielder emailed France boss Didier Deschamps at the time to inform him that he wouldn't be "able to follow the training programme", with the president of the France Football Federation, Noel le Graet, admitting the reaction was "very surprising", adding that the midfielder had "made a bad decision".
Rabiot has been represented professionally by his agent and mother Veronique since 2007, who has also been involved in some controversy on behalf of her son, including accosting former PSG boss Laurent Blanc in a car park to question the midfielder's position in his squad.
Ten hag's first match in charge of United was something of a disaster on Sunday as the Red Devils were beaten 2-1 by Brighton.
The result has seemingly sparked the Man United boss into action what with the close of the transfer window in sight, but the addition of Rabiot may cause him more harm than good.
