Manchester United are hopeful record signing Paul Pogba can deploy his strong personal relationship with Antoine Griezmann to aid the English Premier League club in securing another major transfer.
Jose Mourinho has identified the France international as one of a group of high-quality recruits necessary to further a process of returning United's squad to a level from which it can compete for the Premier and Champions League titles. While United are confident of meeting the financial terms demanded by Atletico Madrid for the tactically flexible forward, they want Griezmann to help facilitate a summer switch.
According to sources familiar with United's recruitment strategy, the club made initial efforts to bring Griezmann to Old Trafford last year but were not encouraged by the Frenchman to proceed during a summer in which the player's focus was on France's European Championship campaign.
In recent months, United have involved Griezmann's friend and international team-mate Pogba in their attempts to sell the club to him as the ideal platform for the next stage of his career. Pogba - who has quickly established himself as a central figure in Mourinho's Manchester United – is said to be “talking to the boy almost every day to push him to go”.
Though Pogba is two years younger than Griezmann, he broke into the senior France squad 11 months before the forward and the pair have been national team-mates since 2014. “I always have good times when I’m with Grizou,” said Pogba in a recent interview with French television.
"He’s my brother, we’re always together. When you’re feeling good away from the pitch it’s easier for you on the pitch, and that’s what’s happening with the France team. I’m very proud of him. I know what he’s been through. When he arrived at Atletico Madrid the first year, he wasn’t playing all the time, he was on the bench.
"He talked to me, saying he was frustrated, that it was hard as he wasn’t playing. After that he kept working hard, and now he’s one of the three nominees for The Best award. I’m very happy for him, especially to see a French player doing so well.”
Griezmann finished third in FIFA's rebranded and restructured poll to select a world player of the year. He has scored 63 League and Champions League goals for Atletico from 121 appearances since joining from Real Sociedad in 2014, and was also named Euro 2016's Player of the Tournament by UEFA during a summer in which Atletico extended his contract until 2021, including a €100million release clause.
If he can ultimately be persuaded to move to Old Trafford, United regard Griezmann with his ability to play anywhere across the forward line as a natural successor to Wayne Rooney. United's record goalscorer has lost his status as an automatic starter following fitness and lifestyle issues and will be allowed to leave the club should the 31-year-old receive an offer acceptable to him.
"He reaches a certain level in his career when it is up to him,” said Mourinho after Rooney finally scored his record 250th goal on Saturday. “Could anyone have been critical of Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] if last summer he decided to go to China or USA, one guy who has had an amazing career?
"It is the same with Wayne. He owns his career. It is him, his family and his decision. But, of course, yes, I see him making an important contribution for us.”
