Aston Villa bizarrely linked with transfer of France midfielder who has ‘no way back’

Aston Villa have been credited with an unlikely transfer interest in Marseille midfielder Adrien Rabiot.

Unai Emery has overseen a woeful start to the Premier League season in which Villa, who’ve produced two really poor performances, have been fortunate to come through with a point on the board.

But with the team already full of central midfield players crammed into a variety of unsuitable positions, it seems unlikely that Monchi and Emery would pursue an interest in another, much less one who’d expect to play in every game and whose very presence could upset the cultural balance of the squad.

Rabiot has reportedly been made available after a physical alteration with teammate Jonathan Rowe just days after his conduct contributed to a highly unsatisfactory pre-season friendly against Villa.

As reported by BirminghamLive, Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi issued a somewhat hypocritical statement regarding the incident, which was apparently beyond the pale despite the culture apparently engendered within a squad full of reprobates.

“In a workplace, we have two employees fighting like in an English pub, with a teammate on the ground because he had lost consciousness,” said De Zerbi with a complete lack of self-awareness.

“What should the employer do in France? There are two solutions: either suspension or dismissal.

“A clear decision [was made] – to remove the players from the squad while waiting to see how they feel. In a football club, as everywhere else, there must be a hierarchy. The club comes first.”

Marseille attempted to reintegrate Rabiot despite De Zerbi’s words and the incident in question, but no solution has been found and the France midfielder is available for transfer.

Villa would not be alone in harbouring an interest in Rabiot. West Ham United, Galatasaray, Inter Milan and AC Milan have all been named as possible contenders for his signature, with Rabiot expected to be affordable given his situation at Marseille.

The 30-year-old also has just one year left on his contract with the Ligue 1 club.

A great talent with a bad reputation

Rabiot is a talented and well-rounded midfielder who can operate in a box-to-box role or as a deep-lying playmaker. He can work from the left or play as a straight defensive midfielder, and has 53 international caps to his name.

But the player has been a divisive character throughout his career. For all his composure on the ball and tactical intelligence, he also has a knack for irritating the people around him. Notoriously, he also has a mother.

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