Manchester City have initiated contact with Antoine Griezmann, with Pep Guardiola having had a discussion with the Barcelona forward.
According to a report by French outlet Foot Mercato, Manchester City seem to have stepped up their efforts to sign Antoine Griezmann in the summer transfer window. The Premier League champions are in contact with the French forward, who could be offloaded by Barcelona in the ongoing window.
Antoine Griezmann joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019 in what proved to be a controversial switch at the time. The transfer did not quite work for either the Catalan outfit or the player, who struggled to reproduce his heroics with Los Rojiblancos upon making the switch to Camp Nou.
However, 2020/21 saw him produce a much-improved campaign, ending the season with a tally of 20 goals and 13 assists in 51 appearances across all competitions. Griezmann, though, is now facing an uncertain future at Barcelona, with Manchester City among the potential suitors for the French forward this summer.
The interest from Manchester City is hardly surprising considering they are still in the market for a long-term replacement for Sergio Aguero, who has coincidentally joined Barcelona. While Griezmann will not be a like-for-like replacement for the Argentine forward, his versatility would make him an appealing prospect for the Premier League champions.
The French international is not the first option to bolster the attack for Manchester City, who are keen on signing Harry Kane as Aguero’s replacement. However, with Tottenham firm on their stance of not selling the England captain while also slapping a rather unreachable price tag on him, the Premier League heavyweights have had to turn their attention elsewhere.
Griezmann, to that end, is a viable target for Manchester City, who have now taken the next step to sign the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner, with Pep Guardiola initiating contact with him. On their part, Barcelona are open to offloading the 30-year-old in order to get his astronomical wages off their books and get one step closer to handing Lionel Messi an acceptable contract.
That Barcelona have also signed Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero ought to ease the process of replacing Griezmann in the first-team setup. What now remains to be seen is if Manchester City step up their efforts to sign the Frenchman further by making their move for him. For now, talks seem to have begun between the Barcelona forward and the Premier League champions.
Yes swap him with Laporte
If we could get Laporte for him then perfect
This is good when this guy will come to Etihad stadium l love his game