MANCHESTER UNITED have been joined in their pursuit of Antoine Griezmann by Juventus, according to reports.
Griezmann, 31, is free to leave Barcelona after flopping at the club and is currently on loan at rivals Atletico Madrid.
There is an clause in his loan deal which could see him sign permanently for Atletico for a cut-price fee of £35million, although recent reports suggest it could be as low as £22m.
However, the clause inserted into the deal means the full transfer is only triggered if the Frenchman plays a certain amount of games.
And to avoid triggering the buy option Atletico have only played Griezmann for less than 30 minutes per match – which is under the threshold to be counted as a game in the terms.
If Atletico continue to do this, he won’t automatically become their player, which would allow interested parties such as United and Juventus to sign him.
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Barcelona have threatened legal action against Atletico regarding their seeming exploitation of this loophole, and unless a deal is hashed out before January to sort it Griezmann may be recalled.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus are keeping an eye on the situation and are alert to any changes ahead of a potential transfer.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side have struggled in Serie A this season and are way off the pace of getting close to winning a Scudetto.
Consequently, they are already looking at reinforcements in January and next summer.
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The likes of Marco Asensio and Christian Pulisic are among their targets who are at a reduced price, with Griezmann the latest addition to the list.
Man Utd’s interest dates back to the summer, but the 2018 World Cup winner was not entertaining moves away from Madrid and snubbed a potential move.
However, the current situation is leaving all parties frustrated and could end with United making an approach in January.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
