Rumour reel: Griezmann going nowhere
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Atletico star proves his loyalty
All the talk in the footballing world was about Saturday’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus, but away from the bright lights and glamour, while players jet off on their summer holidays – managers, agents and newspaper sports writers are hard at it.
It’s the time of year Scottish football fans refer to as ‘silly season’, when just about any player in the world can and will be linked with just about any club in the world. There doesn’t even need to be any truth in it, as long as it sells copies, it’ll be published. Coral’s rumour reel feature aims to cut through the nonsense and bring you the hot stories during the summer.
Griezmann won’t turn his back on Atletico
The race for French hot-shot Antoine Griezmann’s signature looked to be developing into a straight shoot-out between Man Utd and Chelsea – Mourinho looking to pick up a striker who could transform his sloppy attack for years to come, while Conte needed a capable replacement for Diego Costa, who looks set to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer. The Atletico Madrid attacker seems to have settled the debate on Twitter this week though, tweeting ‘now more than ever #Atleti. Fans took that to mean he will stay and fight for his current employers.
Arsenal ready to splash the cash
Arsene Wenger certainly didn’t let the grass grow, and after stunning English football, especially followers of The Gunners who had been campaigning for him to resign for most of 2017, he extended his contract, and is now making moves on summer transfer targets. According to newspaper reports, the north Londoners are preparing an £87m offer for Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe, who caught the eye in this year’s Champions League. The 18-year-old scored 26 goals this season, and his arrival would be a real statement of intent from the Arsenal manager and his board.
Mourinho weighing up his options
With the Griezmann deal seemingly dead in the water, Man Utd manager Mourinho is looking elsewhere for the long-term replacement of Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Romelu Lukaku is one name being printed, Max Kruse another, but the main target seems to Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette. The 26-year-old banged in 37 goals this season, catching the eye of talent spotters across the continent, not least those at Old Trafford. The club’s money men must now open the cheque book, with offers over £50m needed to tempt Lacazette’s current employers into doing business.
