I must be getting old because I've literally never heard of any of these players we're being linked with. If it wasn't for Rabiot's name being in there, the threads in this forum would just look like an assortment of the weirdest made-up aliases on the planet. "Adrien Rabiot" is pushing it as it is.
I don't think it's so much you're getting old as it is transfer and player strategy, both at our club and football-wide, has shifted big time. Everyone's looking to buy young players who look ready to take the next step from decent teams in decent leagues.
Imagine Real Madrid buying a 19 year-old academy product fifteen years ago.