What you do get when you have a very slow news day just 12 days before a transfer window opens? Ridiculous transfer narratives like some of the ones we are seeing today. (Eden Hazard is the top trending narrative, and we covered that already over at this link) Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann was initially the top transfer target for Manchester United when this past summer transfer window opened.
At least that’s what we were told. Obviously, it didn’t happen and the Frenchman stayed put. Now with Atletico charging Barcelona with tapping up their player, registering a formal complaint with FIFA, what happens now?
Football 365 seems to share our heresy for the Mirror’s “scoop” on this.
The website writes:
“You will forgive us for our cynicism, but this is precisely the type of story that we keep on file. It clangs as guesswork, quite frankly. In the Daily Mirror, Neil McLeman writes that Atletico Madrid are now ‘ready’ to sell Antoine Griezmann to Manchester United having fallen out with Barcelona…
…The story contains no actual evidence for a move to United happening or Atletico being ready to sell to them. In fact, the best it comes up with is ‘Griezmann is also a huge David Beckham fan’.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. The Mirror couldn’t have at least tried the “Agent Paul” bit- you know, the “Pogba and Griezmann are close friends and national teammates and thus the £89.3m midfielder is recruiting him to Old Trafford” routine?
Additionally, with all peace and love to David Beckham, he literally is the subject that comes up in any football/soccer press conference where a reporter is totally clueless about the sport, but feels the need to ask a question during the session anyway.
When it doubt, relate something to Beckham, it’s become a cliche now.
Moving on, The Manchester Evening News, buried in their Eden Hazard story, has this nugget:
“Gazzetta dello Sport reports that United have made a “serious enquiry” for Lazio centre back Stefan de Vrij.”
“The Dutchman is out of contract with the Serie A club in the summer but it is suggested that Mourinho could pay a small fee to land him in January and beat the competition. Inter Milan are believed to be one of four clubs also interested in the defender.”
M.E.N. points out the unlikeliness of this deal as United are loaded right now at central back. We beg to differ though, and see that depth could be an issue. New summer signing Victor Lindelof got off to a rough start and hasn’t adjusted as well as many had hoped.
Phil Jones is excessively injury prone and Eric Bailly is out for a very long time with a serious ankle injury.
So a small addition bolstering depth like this could be needed, and given how January transfer windows usually go, this would be the kind of deal that might actually have a realistic chance of happening.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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