There’s no question Manchester United is on the right path under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese tactician’s work to put The Red Devils where they belong has been pretty good so far. But it’s not over, and there are several areas where the team can improve. Mourinho can only do so much with the current squad.
Manchester United needs to make a splash in the transfer market, as they don’t have the world class players they had 15 years ago, Something needs to happen if they want to compete with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham for the Premier League title.
Sure, the defense is a concern. But Manchester United needs an attacker who can lead the side in the next five to 10 years. And no ones fits the criteria better than Antoine Griezmann, the french superstar who plays for Atletico Madrid. He might thrive in La Liga, but recent reports have indicated he’s keen to move to England soon.
Griezmann has a lot of traits that would fit perfectly in Old Trafford. First of all, he’s talented and can play a number of positions on the attack. He can slot as a second forward behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or move freely all over the attack. Or he could adapt to either wing as well, although he’s better suited to play as a secondary striker. It’s safe to say he would be the perfect complement for a central forward like Ibra, Marcus Rashford or even Wayne Rooney.
Griezmann certainly passes the eye test, but numbers-wise he’s been even better. His track record with Los Colchoneros is pretty good, and even though he went through a slump a few months ago, he still has 14 goals and seven assists in 28 games across all competitions.
Throughout his career at Estadio Vicente Calderón, Griezmann has 71 goals and 20 assists in 135 matches. And he’s coming off an impressive performance with France in the 2016 European Championship as well. With Les Bleus, the talented forward has netted 14 goals in 39 matches. He already meshed quite well with Paul Pogba playing for France, and the possibilities would be endless if both played together on a weekly basis.
Griezmann has already rejected two bids from Manchester United, but the Red Devils aren’t giving up. Apparently the idea is to submit a $80-million offer for the 25-year-old, a bit Atletico isn’t going to reject considering they will need to add new players pretty soon to rebuild the squad. Their current isn’t good enough to compete with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and $80M would allow them to sign two or three talented players. It’s a win-win situation for both parties.
A transfer is not going to happen right now. However, it’s a situation both sides need to consider once the season ends. Both teams would be favored by this potential transfer, one that would put Manchester United near the top of the Premier League once again.