Man Utd Verbally Agree Terms With £87m Attacker, Player Keen On Move

Managers are now making moves to try and strengthen their squads during the January transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, more on Man Utd’s interest in Antoine Griezmann…

Manchester United are confident of signing Antoine Griezmann this summer after verbally agreeing the terms over a potential £87m deal for the Atletico Madrid forward, according to the Independent.

Griezmann is now considered as one of the best strikers in world football having scored 69 goals and provided a further 19 assists in his 132 games since moving to Atletico from Real Sociedad in 2014.

The Frenchman took his form in to the international stage last summer after being named as the Player of the Tournament at the 2016 European Championship Finals after his 6 goals led France to the final where they eventually lost out to Portugal.

Understandably, the 25-year-old has attracted interest from all around Europe but the Independent claim that United are now increasingly confident they’ve won the race for his signature ahead of a summer move.

The newspaper says that United officials have been negotiating with Griezmann’s representatives for some time and have now verbally agreed a deal including the players contract and what shirt number he’d wear.

The Independent claim that Griezmann is extremely keen on moving to Old Trafford this summer and United are expected to match the forward’s €100m buy-out clause, which at today’s exchange rate would mean a deal worth in the region of £87m – just shy of Paul Pogba’s world record £89m fee.

Griezmann is good friends with Pogba having grown close during their time away with the French national team so it seems the Atletico striker is keen to also link-up with his compatriot at club level.

Obviously Griezmann would be a sensational signing for United if they were able to pull it off as he’d be a long-term replacement for the likes of Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic while he’s also capable of playing out on the wing if needed.

READ MORE –> Man Utd transfer news

However, the Independent’s report states that the only issue that could scupper any potential deal is the fact that Atletico are still waiting for the Court of Arbitration for Sport to rule on their current transfer ban which will determine whether they’ll be able to buy and sell players this summer.

United will pray that the decision goes in Atletico’s favour as it means they’ll be free to complete their proposed swoop for Griezmann and while it may be bad news for United’s title rivals, I’d love to see the player plying his trade here in England.