Gist Of The Story-
Jose Mourinho may have to wait until the next transfer window in January to recruit new players in his squad. Despite that, the Red Devils would be extremely eager for the winter transfer window to arrive after been given a huge boost for Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann.
After Atletico Madrid was given a transfer ban for the remainder of the year, the La Liga side could not do any business with any suitors as they could not sell or buy players. Come January, the ban will be lifted and business can resume.
Things may not look great after the ban is lifted. Star forward Antoine Griezmann, who signed a contract extension with the Spanish outfit would become available at a price of almost half what he was worth.
Griezmann was reportedly wanting a move away from Madrid which led to speculation over his future and English side Manchester United were very keen on bringing him to Old Trafford.
In an interview earlier last week, Griezmann stated he was ’60 percent close to joining Manchester United’.
However, after the transfer ban was imposed on Atletico, the 26-year-old striker wanted to show the club loyalty and decided to put any transfer rumors to bed by signing an extension with Atletico.
After signing his extension, Griezmann’s release clause was a massive €200m, but come January, it will be halved.
Manchester United will be licking their lips at the prospect of signing one of the best players in the world.
When it comes to the winter window, Griezmann’s release clause will be around £92m, as the Red Devils will look to spend and save a lot on transfer fees.
Griezmann’s former agent Eric Olhats was quoted saying, ‘Griezmann didn’t feel able to leave Atletico.
He has been integral to them and has shown his commitment to the club at a time when they couldn’t sign players.
‘Without the Fifa sanctions, he would have gone.’
Atleti wanted to bring in former striker Diego Costa from Chelsea which would have paved the way for Griezmann’s exit but again the transfer ban meant that a deal could not take place.
Having joined Atletico Madrid in 2014 from Real Sociedad, Griezmann has made 112 appearances and scored 60 goals for them, the French international has been known to work extremely hard for his side he is also described to possess great skill, composure, and quality on the ball.
Will It Actually Happen?
It will be a tough task for the Red Devils to convince the Spanish outfit into selling the player, who is one of the key stars at the club, though if Mourinho and United want a player, they generally do tend to sign their target. However, the Frenchman is one smart player and it could be tough to add him to their current squad, with Atletico not looking eager to sell.
An interesting winter transfer window awaits, though generally such deals do not tend to really happen at that time of the year. Like us on FB for more stories.
