Manchester City make opening offer for Barcelona superstar
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Manchester City have taken their first step towards signing Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s priority remains signing Tottenham striker Harry Kane in this summer transfer window to replace Sergio Aguero. Kane has expressed his desire to leave Tottenham this summer after failing to lift a major trophy with the club since debuting back in 2011.
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The Sky Blues have had an opening bid worth £100M for the England international rejected by Tottenham last month. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is hellbent on keeping Kane, who has still three years remaining on his current deal.
That being said, Manchester City and Pep Guardiola have started exploring alternatives for Kane in their efforts to replace Aguero.
The Sky Blues didn’t really struggle for goals last season but losing an important player in Aguero means Guardiola has to bring in a quality player to fill his void in the squad.
And as per Fichajes, the English champions have offered a swap deal, which will see defender Aymeric Laporte join Barcelona and Antoine Griezmann move in the other direction. The Catalan club will also receive an additional €20 million for the French international should the mooted deal go through.
Guardiola is an old admirer of Griezmann and wanted to sign him before he left Atletico Madrid for Barcelona in the summer of 2019.
Now, the 30-year-old Barcelona forward has become the most practical option for City due to his availability and much lower price, with Guardiola and his coaching team apparently accepting that Kane cannot be poached from Spurs this summer, at least.
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Barcelona’s new president Joan Laporta wants to balance the books after struggling with serious financial problems and is keen to get rid of several players this summer, the report adds. Griezmann is has failed to live up to the lofty expectations of the Barcelona fans in the last two LaLiga seasons and could be on his way out of the club this summer.
The 30-year-old, who had a disappointing Euro 2020, certainly needs a change of scenario to get his career back on track. A move to City could help him on an individual level, whilst reinforcing Guardiola’s attack ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.