Manchester United will have to be patient if they want to complete big-money moves for Atletico duo Antoine Griezmann and Saul Niguez, report the Star.
After a disappointing start to the season, United are finally finding their form under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho. Mourinho’s men have won nine consecutive games in all competitions, and go into their clash against Liverpool at the weekend fell of confidence.
However, despite their good form, United remain sixth in the Premier League and their title hopes are looking slim. Mourinho could look to bring in reinforcements to reinvigorate his squad.
As per the Star, Man United are interested in signing both Griezmann and Saul from Diego Simeone’s Atletico. The tabloid believe that the Reds will have to cough up £145 million in order to meet their respective release clauses.
However, the tabloid cite Sky Sports in quoting Spanish football expert Guillem Ballague, who reveals that United may be forced to wait: “Atletico expect their manager to stay one more year, which means the club also expects Saul and Griezmann to stay one more year.”
Last week The Sun claimed that Griezmann has been offered a staggering £220,000-a-week deal to join Manchester United in the summer.
The paper said it is the same ‘Galactico contract’ as Paul Pogba and apparently Old Trafford executives discussed personal terms with the Atletico Madrid star’s representatives this week. However, United have yet to agree a fee for the Frenchman, with Atletico demanding £86 million.
Griezmann, 25, had an excellent 2016 overall, leading to regular transfer speculation of a big money move to the Premier League, but finished the calendar year without scoring in any of his last five games in all competitions.
The winter break seems to have helped revitalise the former Real Sociedad player – who has now scored in three games on the bounce for the first time since last summer’s European Championship finals.
He looked lively for his 64 minutes on the pitch against Las Palmas in Atletico Madrid’s Copa del Rey action, despite just 24 hours earlier having attended the FIFA Best awards in Zurich.