Man Utd ‘need’ to replace £60m flop with £22m target as Ratcliffe looks to make ‘hell of a statement’
Manchester United have been told that they “need” to sign Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann, who would be an upgrade on summer signing Mason Mount.
After initially being heavily linked with Liverpool, Mount joined Man Utd from Chelsea in the summer in a deal that could be worth around £60m with add-ons.
The England international has endured a rough start at Old Trafford as he has only started four Premier League games.
Mount will be questioning whether he made the right decision in the summer as Erik ten Hag currently prefers other options and Man Utd are now being linked with Griezmann.
Former United striker Louis Saha has now encouraged the Premier League giants to bring in Griezmann, as he is “the type of player they need”.
“Antoine Griezmann is a talented player and unlike many players, there’s never any doubts about him,” Saha told Paddy Power.
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“He’s very mobile and physically he’ll always find the right area. Manchester United’s interest in him shows straight away that there is something wrong.
“They already have Mason Mount, but it means they’re looking at a replacement for him because Griezmann is the type of player that Manchester United need. He’s a clever player who can be in the pocket, create things and score goals. He is a great player who has scored so many goals for Atletico Madrid and it would be really exciting, but I don’t see him as a future signing for Manchester United.
“No disrespect to Griezmann at all, but I don’t understand why they would be looking at him. He’s a short-term solution but I don’t see the future of Manchester United with Antoine Griezmann in it.”
Journalist Dean Jones meanwhile has suggested that it would be a “hell of a statement” if Griezmann is one of Man Utd’s first signings after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover is completed.
“It’d be a hell of a statement if they could sign Griezmann weeks after Ratcliffe arrives at Man Utd. I’d be absolutely stunned if they could pull something like that off from every angle,” Jones told GiveMeSport.
“But, from Griezmann’s point of view, more than anything, I just don’t understand why he’d be interested in a move like that.
“We’ve seen from Griezmann in the past few years that he’s often struggled to find his best form and consistency. It’s as good as I’ve seen him playing for a long time.”
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