Bharath Rammr
Manchester United have been heavily linked with a move for Atletico Madrid superstar Antoine Griezmann. The player is reportedly being wooed to Manchester by using Paul Pogba as a trump card. The duo have become extremely thick friends after the recent Euro 2016 campaign for the French national team. Pogba recently moved to United in an £89 million deal, which made him the most expensive player. Griezmann reportedly has a release clause of around £86 million, which would be extremely reasonable for a player with Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi rivalling statistics over the last two years.
Griezmann and Pogba have been spotted together during the international break. The France national team will be taking on Sweden in a World Cup 2018 qualification match followed by a friendly against Ivory Coast. The former is extremely important for Didier Deschamps after having dropped two points in the opening group match. France has since recovered to win the last two games against Bulgaria and Netherlands, but they cannot afford to drop any more points now.
Rumours about Griezmann’s move to Manchester United will continue to grow as long as Pogba is pictured sharing a great friendship with the 25-year-old. The latest set of pictures show that the bromance between the two is extremely healthy, and it only paves way for more rumours linking Griezmann with a move to Old Trafford.
Atletico Madrid’s form in the La Liga may be inconsistent with only six league wins from 11 games. However, Griezmann has been a major factor in the six victories and Atletico would have surely struggled without his goals. He has managed an incredible six goals and four assists in 10 league outings – a figure of one goal per game through goals and assists. This statistic is even marginally better than that of Ronaldo and it says a lot about the quality of the player.
Jose Mourinho has two weeks to contemplate about the upcoming match with Arsenal at Old Trafford. The 3-1 win against Swansea not only lifted a huge pressure off the team, but it also made Jose Mourinho relaxed after a couple of weeks of extreme stress. The Portuguese has come under a couple of issues with the English FA and was even unavailable in the dugout for the game against Swansea.
In the meantime, Pogba and Griezmann seem to be developing a rapport that could eventually result in the latter moving to Old Trafford. Even though Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to form with two goals against Swansea, a player like Griezmann will always improve the team. Even after having spent more than £150 million last summer, Manchester United fans will be amazed that the club are ready to spend almost half the figure in the upcoming summer on a player like Griezmann.
