Man Utd are reportedly planning to meet the £85m release clause in Antoine Griezmann’s contract with Atletico Madrid to sign him this summer.
The 26-year-old has established himself as one of the leading players in Europe with his form for Atleti and France in recent years, and in turn it’s no surprise that he’s attracted interest from elsewhere.
With 22 goals and 11 assists in 40 appearances so far this season, he has continued to lead by example for Diego Simeone’s men, but it might not be for much longer.
According to The Telegraph, Griezmann remains the priority for United this summer above the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Romelu Lukaku, while it’s added that Paul Pogba has been doing his part to convince his fellow Frenchman to make the move to Manchester.
The report goes on to state that there are various factors that could come into play to scupper Jose Mourinho’s plans to add another marquee signing to his squad, namely if Simeone decides to stay on in the Spanish capital or if United fail to qualify for the Champions League.
In turn, while meeting the staggering £85m release clause would go some way to making the transfer much smoother, it still won’t be simple as the French international will have to weigh things up and decide whether or not this summer is the right time to move on.
Following their big-money acquisition of Pogba last summer, it appears as though the transfer strategy in place at Old Trafford will now focus on bringing in one big name each year with Mourinho likely to be hopeful of strengthening elsewhere too.
However, he’ll be more than aware of the fact that the next couple of months will be massively important in setting the path that United go down both on the pitch and in the transfer market.