Diego Costa’s return to Atletico Madrid from Chelsea has increased the chances of Manchester United making a €100 million move for Antoine Griezmann at the end of the season, having drifted from an initial plan to sign the player this summer.
The talented Frenchman had been expected to move to Old Trafford at the end of last season following United’s return to the Champions League by winning the Europa League.
Jose Mourinho had seen the France international forward as a key target, with Griezmann also ready to accept the challenge of a move to the Premier League.
But FIFA’s confirmation in June of Atletico’s worldwide transfer embargo, which stops the club from registering new players until Jan 2018, allowed Griezmann to commit his immediate future to the Spanish club, claiming it would be a “dirty move to leave now.”
Days earlier, senior figures at United claimed that they would instead prioritise the capture of a centre-forward, rather than step up their efforts to sign Griezmann, who had earlier claimed there was a “six out of 10” chance he would sign for the English club.
It is still not whether United’s withdrawal from the race to sign Griezmann because of the player’s reluctance to leave Atletico in the event of FIFA upholding the transfer ban.
But even with United’s surprise U-turn on Griezmann in May, and the player’s decision that followed to sign a one-year contract extension at Atletico, reports have it that both parties remain admirers of one another.
Manchester United were careful to insist in the summer that their interest in Griezmann were delayed rather than ended, with the intention being to leave the door open for a renewed move without seting the player up.
And returning the favour, Griezmann only committed to a new contract at Atletico after ensuring that the €100m release clause in his previous deal remained unchanged.
Mourinho is still a huge fan of Griezmann, but with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s cruciate ligament injury ruling him out until the New Year and Wayne Rooney allowed to leave for Everton, the United manager accepted the need to prioritise the £90m signing of Romelu Lukaku from Everton at the expense of pursuing Griezmann.
But with recent developments, and with Costa able to play for Atletico from January onwards following his return to the club from Stamford Bridge, the Spanish club will have already addressed the issue of replacing Griezmann’s goals in the team, should he be sold.
Atletico can also return to the transfer market from January, enabling the club to identify and pursue potential squad reinforcements in the event of Griezmann leaving the club next summer.
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