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Is Antoine Griezmann really a target for Manchester United?
There have been many rumours during the international break about the future of Antoine Griezmann. I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about him since there were some reports in Spain linking Griezmann with Manchester United.
While it’s true that Griezmann has a release clause at Atletico Madrid, but it’s also the case that the player is only focused on Atletico Madrid – he is in love with the club. He already left once in the past, joining Barcelona in 2019, and then he wanted to return. Now he’s back and he has a great relationship with manager Diego Simeone and his teammates – his idea is not to change clubs in January, there is no plan at all to leave, there is absolutely nothing going on with Manchester United.
And as I’ve previously reported on Griezmann, back in June he had the possibility to accept a life-changing contract proposal to move to Saudi Arabia, but he wasn’t interested because he only wanted to stay at Atletico Madrid. So it’s not just Man United, there is no desire for Griezmann to leave for any club, he wants to stay at Atletico Madrid.
Staying with Man United, there’s no concrete update yet on Donny van de Beek, but he is one player who is very much expected to leave in January. United and Van de Beek will find a solution for sure, though there is no clarity yet about a specific club, it’s still too early.
Chelsea still backing Mykhaylo Mudryk despite Khvicha Kvaratskhelia links
I’m aware there have been some stories about Chelsea having an interest in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with reports that he’s a player they really like, but I wouldn’t read too much into this for now. Of course we can all see Kvaratskhelia is a superb talent – he’s been a joy to watch for Napoli and so I think it’s normal to see stories like this.
Also with Napoli there is the reality that they could be forced to sell Victor Osimhen in the summer – I’ve reported on interest in him several times recently, and there’s been no progress on a new contract with Napoli, so they will hope to keep Kvaratskhelia if they lose another of their important players.
A lot can change in football and it’s too early to know for sure what will happen, but my understanding remains that it’s not a concrete thing with Chelsea so far.
In other news…
Pablo Fornals – There have been some surprise links between Pablo Fornals and Barcelona, with the West Ham midfielder supposedly mentioned as an option to cover for the injured Gavi. Still, I’m not aware of concrete talks for Fornals so far, there’s still nothing decided in terms of new midfielder; as Deco said, the situation is still very quiet. Barcelona’s priority is to use funds on Financial Fair Play to register Vitor Roque.
Pascal Gross – The Brighton star is a player Eintracht Frankfurt really like, as has been reported. Eintracht love Gross, but they also know nothing will happen in January, he’s a dream target for June but very difficult as Gross is very happy at Brighton and there are no problems between Brighton and Gross, at all.
Jose Mourinho – Al Hilal wanted Jose Mourinho in June 2023, but he decided to respect AS Roma and so he turned down the proposal. He’s now suggested he will manage in Saudi Arabia one day, but it’s too early for anything concrete, as nothing will happen until at least next summer.