Newcastle United have been dealt a blow to their chances of securing a transfer deal for Adrien Rabiot during the upcoming January transfer window. 

The Lowdown: Newcastle linked with Rabiot

Earlier this month, it was reported that Newcastle are looking to sign the Juventus midfielder, who is set to see his current contract at the Italian club expire at the end of the summer.

The 27-year-old is preparing to take on Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar with France after making five appearances for his country throughout the tournament.

With the January window approaching, the Magpies have been dealt a blow to their hopes of signing the World Cup finalist.

The Latest: Rabiot transfer blow

According to a recent report from Sport, Rabiot will not be considering a potential move away from Juventus during the January window and will instead leave as a free agent in the summer.

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The report also adds that the Frenchman would like to make a move to Barcelona despite having offers to play in the Premier League.

The Verdict: Disappointing for Newcastle

Going off this latest report, it appears that Newcastle have not only taken a blow to their chances of signing Rabiot in January but they now seem unlikely to land a deal for him at all.

The midfielder's efforts in the World Cup so far have shown how much of a useful signing he could be for the Tyneside club from an attacking and defensive point of view.

For example, in terms of his attacking threat, only Kylian Mbappe (4.71) and Olivier Giroud (3.8) have a higher rate of shots at goal per game than Rabiot (1.86).

 

In addition to that, only Aurelien Tchouameni (40) has made more passes into the final third of the pitch than the Juventus figure (31).

Then from a defensive standpoint, only Theo Hernandez (11) has won more tackles than the midfield wizard (8), who has seen his performances in Qatar labelled as "outstanding" by journalist John Molinaro on Twitter.

Taking all of this into account, we feel that if Newcastle were to miss out on signing Rabiot in January or in the summer as a free agent, this would be a big disappointment for them.