Manchester United are “on the verge” of completing a deal for Antoine Griezmann, according to reports
According to the Manchester Evening News, the Red Devils are ever closer to sealing a deal for Atletico Madrid’s superstar forward, Antoine Griezmann. They state that sources close to the Frenchman believe that a deal is close to completion.
They further state that Atletico Madrid have now accepted that they will be powerless to stop Griezmann from leaving in the summer should any interested clubs activate his release clause of £86 million, something United are able and willing to pay for the 26-year old.
Griezmann was already attracting interest from England – particularly from Arsenal – before his surprise £24 million move to Atletico Madrid from Real Sociedad back in the summer of 2014, signing a six-year deal with the Rojiblancos.
Since moving to Atletico, he has quickly established himself as one of the best players in the world and his performances for France in Euro 2016 combined with his brilliant form for Atletico saw him place third in the Ballon d’Or award.
This season, Griezmann has not showed signs of slowing down and has picked up 22 goals and 11 assists in 40 appearances across all competitions, despite Atletico struggling at times and not looking at their best.
United’s pursuit of the French international has been well documented and at one point it was almost a given, however reports emerged earlier this month that the Red Devils had decided to pursue other targets after the pursuit of Griezmann went into troubled waters.
The Frenchman himself has spoken of his interest in playing at Old Trafford in the future but recently also stated that he would be open to plying his trade for the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich should they show an interest in him.
However, if the Manchester Evening News are to be believed, United have now moved closer to signing the player who seems like their top priority this summer as Jose Mourinho looks to unveil a new-look attack next season.
They state that Griezmann is seen as the ideal candidate to ease the goalscoring pressure on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s shoulders this season and considering the Frenchman is still only 26, they will also be getting a player who still has his best years ahead of him.
This definitely won’t be the last we hear of this deal as it seems more and more likely that Griezmann will be moving to Old Trafford next season. Given United’s resources and the obvious interest in the Frenchman, the deal might just happen this summer.
