Adrien Rabiot
It’s no surprise that Juventus have appeared more ebullient and full of life since Adrien Rabiot was removed from the hybrid function. Now, there are obviously more factors in Juve’s recent upsurge – Allegri realising it’s 2021, not 1991, being the most significant – but there’s no denying that the Frenchman hindered more than he helped the Bianconeri during his run in the side.
You could say that Rabiot epitomised the very essence of Allegri’s turgid and uninspiring 4-4-2.
Those are incredibly harsh words for a regular France international and an occasionally useful footballer, but I’m sure the vast majority of Juventini are nodding their heads in agreement right now. You are, aren’t you?
Nevertheless, as I noted, Rabiot is not an awful footballer. He enjoyed a quite brilliant run of form to close out 2020/21 and even this season we’ve seen the apparently versatile midfielder impress on occasions.
However, we’re approaching do or die time for Rabiot in Turin. He’s a shoo-in to start on Wednesday after he accompanied the manager in his pre-match press conference and we expect him to play in the midfield pivot. Although, recent reports suggest Juve could deploy a 3-5-2 with Rabiot one of three central midfielders.
Either way, the Frenchman will perform a more familiar function against Malmo and with the January transfer window arriving, he must convince the manager that he’s worth having around for the remainder of 2021/22.