The months before the end of the season saw Manchester United heavily linked with French forward Antoine Griezmann.
Griezmann enjoyed yet another impressive season at Atletico Madrid scoring 16 goals and notching eight assists thus helping his side leapfrog Sevilla to a 3rd-placed finish.
While Atleti didn’t mount a viable title challenge, they still enjoyed a successful campaign by their standards, and Griezmann was at the forefront of that; hence, it’s easy to understand why United fans are hell-bent on seeing the Frenchman lineup at Old Trafford next season.
That desire, though, will be met with a heavy dose of disappointment. The court of arbitration for sport have upheld Atletico Madrid’s transfer ban despite the club making a spirited appeal to have it waived.
Atleti will now be unable to sign any players in the summer transfer window, including a potential replacement for Antoine Griezmann, thus losing the 26-year-old at this stage, is simply not feasible for Diego Simeone’s side.
If the transfer ban didn’t dash United’s hopes and you still think they can pull the transfer off, then it’s worth noting that Griezmann has accepted a deal to stay at Atletico Madrid beyond this summer.
With the transfer ban upheld, Atletico were prompted to make massive efforts to tie Griezmann down to a new deal in a bid to attract players when the ban expires in the January transfer window.
The Frenchman put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal three months ago, but he has now agreed to a new deal with Atleti. Not much is known about his new contract at this time, but it is reported to have included a pay rise which was seemingly specially prepared to keep Griezmann happy and committed to the club for the foreseeable future.
Griezmann was at the top of United’s summer wishlist, but this U-turn, so to speak, will see them turn their attention towards other players, with a deal for Ivan Perisic already in the works.
The allure of playing alongside one of the world’s best players is sure to help Atleti lure quality players to Estadio Wanda Metropolitano next season.
Andrea Belotti and Romelu Lukaku are on Manchester United’s radar as potential signings for the role up front with Zlatan Ibrahimovic currently out with a serious injury.
The likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial aren’t quite ready to assume the mantle of United’s central striker due to the enormous amounts of pressure attached to the role.
United are in a position to choose between Belotti or Lukaku as they possess the cash to splash on either of them despite Belotti’s release clause being in the region of €100m.
Should United sign a new striker in the summer, they probably won’t renew their interest in Antoine Griezmann in the near future.
