Manchester United are hoping to meet with Adrien Rabiot's mother and agent Veronique within the next 24 hours as the club press ahead on the Frenchman's transfer from Juventus.
United's interest in Rabiot has come as something of a bolt from the blue since their weekend defeat to Brighton, with the club's sub-standard squad and transfer activity over the summer painfully exposed in their opening weekend Premier League defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford.
90min understands United have agreed a deal with Juventus of around £15m for the 27-year-old as the club attempt to bolster their limited options in midfield.
United's main target for the summer has been Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, and while they have agreed a fee with Barcelona for the player they have still not managed to complete a deal - despite United being into the 14th week of the chase. Well publicised contractual issues have been the hold up on De Jong's future to date and that remains the case.
Chelsea are also interested in the player, though United are still in the hunt and hopeful.
Sources indicate that United believe Rabiot does want to make the move, and Juventus have been attempting to offload the player for the duration of the window so far - so the deal also works for them.
One potential stumbling block for United however could be AS Monaco. Rabiot and his agent in an ideal world would like to join a club in the Champions League and Monaco face PSV on Tuesday night in the third qualifying round of the competition. A win would put them in with a chance of making the group stages, with either Rangers or Union SG their final qualifying round opponents.
United will soon embark on another season in the Europa League.
Another transfer United are looking to complete is a surprise deal for 33-year-old Marko Arnautovic, who plays for Bologna in Serie A. Talks between the two clubs are progressing in spite of recent comments from director Marco Di Vaio.
He said: "We’re proud of the interest for Marko but we are not planning to sell him. We want to keep him at Bologna as the president said, he’s a key part of our project - there’s not even a price tag."
Bologna's public stance is understood to be a position set for them to achieve the best possible deal for the Austria international. Talks continue at the moment having initially started over the weekend as United explore options to bolster their forward department.
Both Rabiot and Arnautovic are considered as back up deals away from their main targets, though news of the club's interest in both has not gone down well with fans who were expecting the start of a long-term rebuild under new manager Erik ten Hag.
Source : 90min