Manchester United did not sign a winger this past summer, but they were heavily linked with some of the best in the world during the past few months. Names such as Thomas Lemar, Gareth Bale, and Antoine Griezmann constantly popped up on the rumour mill. Others such as Riyad Mahrez and Anderson Talisca were targers at one point as well. And who can forget the transfer saga regarding Ivan Perisic?
Things have worked well for United so far, however. They sit at the top of the Premier League standings with 10 points in four matches, and their attacking line has worked better than expected. As if that wasn’t enough, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will join the side once he recovers from injury, giving Jose Mourinho another deadly attacker to partner up with Romelu Lukaku. And there are lots of options for the wings. Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, and Henrik Mkhitaryan all can play wide.
One would think Mourinho is not thinking about transfers with that kind of depth. However he is not, and the Portuguese manager is already thinking about the future of the team. And with that in mind, The Red Devils are ready to make another move to land Griezmann, per reports. In fact, reports indicated that that the team will set aside “€100 million and the No. 7 shirt” to convince the French star after the 2018 World Cup.
It is a bold statement, that’s for sure. And if Griezmann gets to leave Atletico Madrid, several teams will try to sign him as well. But he would fit perfectly at Manchester United. He’s the kind of versatile forward Mourinho loves, and his sole presence would give United far more options in the final third.
Think about it. Griezmann as an inside forward on the left, with Lukaku as the number nine and Rashford on the opposite flank. Or maybe Zlatan as the striker with the two aforementioned players on the wings, giving the team even more flexibility due to Zlatan’s tendencies to drift in and out of the box. And what if United adopt the 3-5-2 system they used during pre-season? Insane. That would make Griezmann and Lukaku the starting duo upfront. Both would mesh quite well together if they end up partnering upfront.
Fans must temper their expectations, though. There are no negotiations for Griezmann, and this is nothing more than a rumour. He might not accept a move to Old Trafford. Or maybe he wants to remain at Atletico for life. We will need to wait for, at least, 10 or 11 months to see what will happen.
The one thing that we can confirm is that United want Griezmann at all costs. And that’s a good sign for the future. It shows the team is ready to invest and target world-class players year after year. And that’s the only way the team can become a European contender once again.
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