Newcastle have opened talks with 'world-class' free agent in attempt to beat Arsenal to signing

Yesterday it was claimed that Arsenal and Newcastle United were set to go head-to-head in the transfer market over an excellent winger.

It was claimed that Newcastle and Arsenal were both keen on Barcelona winger Raphinha and the two clubs would battle for the former Leeds United man this summer.

Today, however, has seen the same two clubs pitched against each other by a report in Calciomercato in Italy claiming that the two sides could now be set to fight over World Cup finalist, Adrien Rabiot.

The Frenchman has been without a club for a few weeks now since leaving Juventus.

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Newcastle have had interest in Adrien Rabiot for a while

Newcastle had eyed Rabiot last summer too, but the 29-year-old opted to stay at Juventus for another year.

Now that he is without a club, it's reported that Newcastle, along with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are interested in the winger once dubbed 'world-class' by David Trezeguet.

Indeed, Calciomercato has reported that Newcastle have stolen a march on the competition by making contact with Rabiot's representatives.

Newcastle fans need some convincing on Rabiot

Wages could be an issue with Rabiot said to be seeking over £240,000 a week. We also suspect that should Arsenal or Liverpool enter the fray, the fact that they will play in the Champions League next season could see Newcastle pushed out of the race.

That might come as a relief to many Newcastle fans, though, as often when the Magpies have been linked to Rabiot, a rather vocal set of supporters have expressed huge reservations about bringing him into the squad owing to a perceived bad attitude.

Eddie Howe has a zero-tolerance policy for players with attitudes, so unless Howe thinks he could get the best out of Rabiot like he did with Anthony Gordon, then we wouldn't even be moving for him.

It's worth taking a shot given that he won't cost a transfer fee, but we're not totally confident of a breakthrough.