Thomas Tuchel 'Cannot Guarantee' Adrien Rabiot Will Not Be Sold in January

Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel has said midfielder Adrien Rabiot may leave the club in the January transfer window if he doesn't agree a new contract.

Rabiot's future has been the source of much speculation this season, as his deal at the Parc des Princes is poised to run out at the end of the campaign.

There have been some rumours regarding a January departure, and Tuchel said he isn't sure whether the Frenchman will remain with the club beyond the upcoming window, per Mark Jones of the Daily Mirror:

"I cannot guarantee that Adrien will finish the season with us. Because it is still the same thing. He did not say yes to PSG. And as a result of that, everything is possible.

"Like you say, it was necessary and important for me, for us, to sign a No. 6 for our team this summer. Now we are in winter and it is the same thing. It depends on the situations of Adrien Rabiot and Lassana Diarra. Maybe we will need them now."

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Jones noted Barcelona and Liverpool are among the teams that have been linked with the 23-year-old. According to Corriere dello Sport (h/t Football Italia), Juventus are also admirers of Rabiot and will potentially make an offer of €10 million (£9 million) for him in January.

Football journalist Andrew Gaffney noted Tottenham Hotspur are said to be interested in the PSG man and reckons he'd be a huge bargain for the fee quoted above:

For PSG it's not a desirable situation. Not only do they appear increasingly likely to lose the player, they also now face an unenviable decision as to whether to cash in for a knockdown price in January or let Rabiot walk away for nothing in the summer.

As Tuchel noted, at the moment the team isn't particularly strong in central midfield. If Rabiot was to depart midseason, he'd leave a major void at the hub of the team, and finding a replacement in January of the same standard would be a huge challenge for PSG.

French football journalist Jeremy Smith believes the way Rabiot has conducted himself as of late may be enough to put some possible suitors off signing him:

Still, Rabiot is a gifted player, and when he's on form he possesses the ability to boss matches:

PSG have been linked with some names in this area of the field. De Telegraaf reported (h/t Tom Adams of Eurosport) that Ajax starlet Frenkie de Jong is "almost certain" to join the Parisian giants in a deal worth €75 million (£67 million) in the summer.

Tuchel's words will definitely have alerted some big names who would benefit from an injection of quality in midfield in 2019. However, given they have ambitions of winning the Champions League this season, PSG surely wouldn't sanction any sale before they find a replacement for the Frenchman.