da esport bet： The Sun have delivered for us during our hours of need (the international break, that is) with an intriguing transfer update, in which they claim Manchester United remain keen on Antoine Griezmann and that they hope having his close friend, Paul Pogba, at Old Trafford will give them an advantage when trying to sign him.
What’s the story?
da jogodeouro： Manchester United’s interest in the Frenchman is not overly new – Bleacher Report put out an interesting piece on this just after the last transfer window closed – and The Sun have waded in with some more tantalising details.
Although they claim that Chelsea and Arsenal are both keen on the Atletico Madrid hit-man, the crux of the newspaper’s report centres around Man United being in for him, (he’s their No.1 target, no less) and the role Pogba could play. They believe that with the compatriots ‘pals’ off the pitch, the attacker may be swayed towards Manchester, should he decide it’s time to leave Madrid in 2017.
Agent Pogba…
It may be a case of The Sun putting two and two together to make five, but they do have some back-up to suggestions Pogba may be influential in the form of quotes from Griezmann about his relationship with the world’s most expensive player:
“We get on very well. It is true that the EUROs has brought us closer together still.
“Paul is a really nice guy. He is it! We send messages, Snapchats. He’s really a good friend. When he plays with his club, I try to look at it to see if he had a good game or not.â€
Pogba is known to be quite the character off the pitch, so perhaps Griezmann may be tempted to unite with him in England, although personal friendship is by no means the most serious factor to be considered by a player at the top of his game.
Is he attainable?
Yes. The Telegraph claim that he has a £89.3m release clause in his contract and even with Atletico Madrid’s transfer ban they would be powerless to do anything should that be triggered. Granted, that’s a huge sum of money, but Chelsea are thought to be willing to pay the fee needed, and Man United are one of the very richest football clubs on the planet, so they themselves may be able to pay out just a year after securing Pogba.
Outside of the Premier League, it’s hard to see any other club side being able to lure him away, with Real Madrid’s rivalry with Atletico potentially enough to put him off the switch, while Barcelona’s financial situation isn’t at its healthiest.
There’s the prospect of Paris Saint-Germain coming in with their surplus of Middle Eastern cash, but Griezmann himself is likely to see the Premier League or Spain as the destinations for him given the qualities of the top leagues.
Will it happen?
Man United have the money, there’s a release clause in place and Griezmann may elect to move to a truly elite side in 2017, but the crucial factor for the Red Devils is Champions League qualification. If they are in the big time, there’s every chance Pogba could be the x-factor in their favour… about time he got an assist!