Long-time Manchester United target Adrien Rabiot is on "excellent terms" with Erik ten Hag's side, says his mother Veronique.
During the Dutch manager's first summer in charge of United in 2022, a deal for Rabiot seemed to have been agreed upon. Wages were reportedly on the verge of being finalised, and a £15m transfer fee had been negotiated - but the midfielder suddenly pulled the plug.
Since then, the 29-year-old has remained on Ten Hag's radar. After a five-year spell in Turin with Juventus, he chose to let his deal fizzle out this summer, entering free agency and reportedly attracting interest from the United - who are supposedly due to open talks once again.
The player's mother and agent, Veronique, has been vocal about her son in the past and dropped a positive hint about any future deal with United - as has emerged this summer - after the last deal was scuppered.
"We are on excellent terms with Manchester United," she told La Gazzetta dello Sport in 2022. This comment has perhaps been reciprocated by Rabiot himself this summer, after the Daily Star report that he has rejected advances from Saudi Arabia and Turkey with eyes on a European move.
Rabiot's mother continued when discussing whether rumours of her demanding a nearly £9m commission as part of the foiled 2022 deal were true: "All false. United wanted to meet me to illustrate their interest in Adrien, but we never talked about money in detail because he quickly decided to stay in Turin."
Rabiot later admitted: “It’s true, there were contacts with Premier League clubs, but in the end, I was lucky to stay, perhaps it was the best decision.
"The Premier League is the most followed league, but I don’t think about the future. I am focused on the World Cup. The club and I are in no hurry (over a contract extension), there’s serenity so we can consider all options."
While his mother's admissions bode well for any potential negotiations this time around, Veronique has cast a combative figure in the past and could bring such animosity to an already on-edge Old Trafford.
During the final year of her son's PSG deal, Veronique made it crystal clear how she felt Rabiot was being treated, exclaiming in a fiery interview with L'Equipe (via Goal): "He is held hostage by PSG. Soon, it will be dry bread, water, and a dungeon. Adrien is a prisoner! They want him to put on his pyjamas at nine o'clock, before the game, in front of his TV, to go to bed at eleven o'clock!"
Should Rabiot arrive at Old Trafford this summer, as reports suggest could occur, then the controversial Veronique will follow her son to Manchester. She has spoken well of the Red Devils in the past, however, and as a family source told The Athletic, is an honest woman who, despite her flaws, wishes the best for her footballing son.
"She stands her ground," the source said. "She goes overboard but she raised her boys and took her son everywhere for football, no matter if it was minus five degrees and snow. And she is an honest woman.
"Is she too loud? Yes. But she has a lot of baggage. The context is everything. She is not a bad person. And she will always defend her son to death."