Manchester United on the verge of completing deal for Antoine Griezmann

Manchester United are close to agreeing a deal that would bring Antoine Griezmann to Old Trafford for next season.

Manchester United have been continuously linked with having Antoine Griezmann as their priority signing for the summer transfer window. So it’s should be no surprise that the Red Devils are making early moves to sign the striker.

United are close to agreeing a deal to sign Griezmann from Ateltico Madrid, according to the Manchester Evening News. Griezmann has a buyout clause of €100 million (£86 million), and that leaves Atletico powerless if a club matches that fee.

The fee is no issue for United, with the club willing to back Jose Mourinho heavily in the summer market. The report says that sources close to Griezmann insist that a move to Old Trafford is now a ”formality”.

Mourinho wants to Zlatan Ibrahimovich to stay for another season, and sees Griezmann as a player who can arrive and ease the goalscoring burden on the Swede. Wayne Rooney is set to leave, also, and that will see Mourinho set about revamping his attack.

Everton striker Romelu Lukaku is another option for United, but Mourinho prefers Griezmann, with the United boss believing the 26-year-old can transform his United team. After a disappointing Premier League campaign, Mourinho is looking to make a serious play for the title next season.

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The arrival of Griezmann would immediately throw up an interesting question of how United would then lineup. Griezmann usually plays as a central striker, but if Ibrahimovich sticks around for another year, then the Frenchman will likely have to find a different position in the meantime.

Griezmann is versatile in that he can play out wide or as a number 10. But are either of those his best position? Will Mourinho get the best out of him in either of those positions? Long term, Griezmann can be United’s central striker for years to come.

But with Ibrahimovich around, Griezmann might have to make-do elsewhere. The signing also raises the question of where Mourinho sees Marcus Rashford playing long term? Due to Ibrahimovich’s sparkling form, Rashford has been forced to play out wide.

The eventual exit of Zlatan, should open the door for Rashford to then return to his central role for years to come. However, if Griezmann is also in the United ranks, then he is going to be ahead of Rashford in the pecking order.

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So is Rashford just a full-time winger now? Or being groomed as Griezmann’s backup? Mourinho is not a manager to play with two strikers, so the arrival of Griezmann certainly raises more than a few questions.

It also likely raises more than a few cheers, too. For Manchester United, if the deal goes ahead, will be signing one of the best strikers in Europe.

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