The rebuild of Manchester United could definitely take some time, so get ready and dig your heels in for that. The upshot is that we’ll have a summer transfer window filled with many comings and goings.
And with Manchester United linked to approximately 97,324 players already, the time is right for some Red Devils transfer talk. We begin with Antoine Griezmann, who in previous summer transfer windows, had been deemed United’s top transfer target; supposedly.
The Atletico Madrid forward, who has already announced his exit, will be on the move this summer, with a deal to FC Barcelona thought to be secure.
Apparently, it is no longer a certainty that the Frenchman will be heading to the Catalan club. United reportedly see an opening, and they are willing to pounce on it. According to the Daily Mirror, United are actively pursuing a £107 million acquisition deal. That amount would break the club transfer fee record, a status that currently belongs to Paul Pogba, who came back for £89.3 million in 2016.
The Daily Mail has more on United making contact with Atletico over a potential deal.
Speaking of big transfer fees, United paid £75 million for Romelu Lukaku two summers ago, and with add-ons that amount rose to £90 million.
Lukaku has been linked with a move to Inter Milan, with the potential for long time United target Ivan Perisic going the other way. Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte wanted to sign Lukaku two summers ago, obviously it didn’t happen, and now with the Italian set to take the reigns at Inter, Conte hopes to finally bring in Big Rom.
However, ESPN reports that United won’t let the striker go for cheap, with Inter hoping for “a season-long loan deal with an option to sign the Belgium international permanently in 12 months’ time.”
United want to recoup as much of their investment as possible.
Finally, we’re officially now into “reading way too much into social media, and then writing stories about it” season.
United celebrated the 11 year anniversary of their Champions League win over Chelsea earlier this week and Ajax star Matthijs de Ligt ‘liked’ an Instagram post from United club legend Rio Ferdinand commemorating the victory.
Read into that what you will. Additionally, the Express reports that De Ligt’s entourage are encouraging him to snub Barcelona and move to United instead.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.