Manchester United are set to drop another €100m transfer-bomb onto the peaceful football landscape and set off a chain of events that could see Luke Shaw end up Chelsea, according to Miguel Delaney’s latest report in the Independent.
Summer for United: Griezmann in, Shaw out https://t.co/tqLvvQU7j4
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) January 17, 2017
Griezmann has been the subject of heavy interest from Premier League clubs for the longest time, including Chelsea and United, but one major obstacle that’s always stood in the way was his enormous and ever-growing release clause, now reported to be at €100 million. But there’s supposedly “increased confidence” at United about signing the player who just finished third at France Football's Ballon d'Or award behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and a deal “in principle” is already supposed to be in place, with an agreeement over wages and even a squad number.
For Griezmann's transfer to happen, United would still have to meet his release clause and also root for the Court of Arbitration for Sport to rule in favour of Atlético and reduce their transfer ban. If Atlético are allowed to register new players, they would then use the Griezmann money to complete their long-standing interest in re-signing Diego Costa — although they could be in for a battle with Barcelona for Diego's services, according to a previous report from Delaney.
In turn, Chelsea would then use part of that money on young left back Luke Shaw. Once heavily linked to Chelsea during José Mourinho's second reign at Stamford Bridge, Shaw switched allegiances from Southampton to Manchester United instead on a £30 million move in June 2014. Unfortunately for the self-confessed Chelsea fan, Mourinho has been less than impressed with his play so far. Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are believed to be interested in the 21-year-old English defender, with the latter dependent on whether Danny Rose will stay with them next summer.
Losing out on Griezmann (especially to Manchester United) and losing Diego to Atlético (or Barça!) would probably not be ideal, but at least Luke Shaw could serve as a sort of consolation prize.