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James GoldmanPublished Jun 1, 2024, 1:55pm|Updated Jun 1, 2024, 1:56pm
Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea are on the lookout for transfer bargains this summer after enduring difficult seasons.
The spending power of both clubs is likely to be impacted by failures to qualify for the Champions League and the need to comply with Premier League spending regulations.
Todd Boehly has made a point of basing his Chelsea rebuild around some of Europe and South America’s brightest young talent and that is a model Sir Ratcliffe appears intent on following at Old Trafford.
Both club chiefs could, however, be forgiven for looking at the more experienced end of the market, however, after details of Antoine Griezmann’s surprisingly low release clause were revealed.
The 33-year-old has just enjoyed another stellar campaign at Atletico Madrid where he relaunched his career in 2021, following a disastrous move to Barcelona.
With 24 goals in 48 games in all competitions, Griezmann is primed to play a starring role for France this summer at the upcoming European Championships in Germany.
According to L’Equipe, the versatile forward has a release clause set at just £12.8 million, a fee which will no doubt attract a host of potential suitors, even if the player himself appears to harbour little desire to move on.
Speaking about his future recently, Griezmann said: ‘I have had offers and calls but I have been clear – I want to stay at Atletico.
‘I made a lot of effort to come back and be accepted. I want it to be my last club in Europe.’
United, for their part, will definitely be in the market for a striker this summer regardless of whether Erik ten Hag remains at the helm.
Rasmus Hojlund enjoyed an encouraging debut season following his move from Atalanta but by Ten Hag’s own admission, a new forward capable of sharing the goalscoring burden represents a priority.
Speaking ahead of last weekend’s FA Cup final, he said: ‘We need to sign an extra striker in the summer.
‘And if we can sign another central midfielder and a replacement for Varane, things will look good again.
‘If the team remains fit we can try and aim for top 4 again.’
