Tottenham Still Interested in Adrien Rabiot?

By Ryan Wrenn | Mar 1, 2017

Adrien Rabiot of PSG during the French Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint Germain and Toulouse at Parc des Princes on February 19, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by Antoine Gyori/ Getty Images) /

The scuttlebutt continues to swirl about Tottenham’s intent in the coming summer transfer window, and now it seems to be centered around Adrien Rabiot.

According to the Daily Mirror, Tottenham are set to revive their interest in the Frenchman as they seek to broaden their options in midfield for the 2017/18 season.

Mauricio Pochettino purportedly last made an attempt to acquire the Paris Saint Germain man last January. With the Ligue 1 champions playing hard ball on the price, Pochettino instead chose to pursue options at home rather than splurge abroad.

Still, there remains a palpable need for more experienced midfield creativity, particularly in depth. Dembélé is, of course, the engine of the team in most every match, but he lacks a clear backup. With him being 29-years-old and not quite consistently healthy, it’s important Pochettino have a like-for-like replacement available.

That is as important long-term as it is short-term. With the core of team still young, Pochettino will need a player in Dembélé’s position who can grow with their teammates — even if they don’t immediately get starts.

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Harry Winks has unquestionably been the primary beneficiary of that decision to skip out on Rabiot. The Tottenham Academy youngster is enjoying more minutes — including starts — this season in rotation with Dembélé.

The 21-year-old lacks experience outside of the Academy and a handful of games played with the first team thus far this season. Though he always manages to impress — or at least not disappoint — he remains something of an unknown quantity.

In Rabiot, should Tottenham succumb to his recent flirting, Pochettino will have a player Winks’ same age and with three years experience as a part-time or full starter at one of the best teams in Europe.

Now, it’s worth adding the qualifier that the bulk of Rabiot’s experience came in Ligue 1. As much as the French league’s reputation is growing, it is still not exactly the Premier League in terms of quality of opposition and intensity. Pochettino will need to trade the risks of Winks’ relative lack of experience with potentially suffering through a learning curve with Rabiot.

There is also the matter of costs of course. Paris Saint Germain were reluctant to part with their star pupil in 2016 — and that feeling might have only intensified since then. Especially considering, that Marco Verratti might be on his way out of the club, Unai Emery will be anxious to hold on as much as he can over the summer.

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Which leaves us with the most likely scenario. Winks will continue to develop with the club, perhaps even growing into that permanent replacement for Dembélé Spurs need down the line. He will come cheaper than Rabiot — or any other central midfield option out there — and will sustain Spurs’ tradition on developing and fielding youth.