Manchester United round-up: Contrasting Griezmann reports; striker wants contract extension; European rich list position revealed

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The reliable Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Antoine Griezmann is the third striking target for Manchester United, behind Alvaro Morata and Kylian Mbappe. He goes onto say that Andrea Belotti is another player that they are interested in, but he isn’t viewed as a priority. This is contrasting to Sky Sports, who are reporting that the Frenchman is a primary target for Jose Mourinho. It had been rumoured that the forward had asked to leave the club, but that isn’t the case according to Sky.

It is usual for clubs to have lists of targets for each position they are looking for strengthen, but it is surprising that Griezmann is third on United’s list of forward targets. He has proven himself to be a world class player and finished third in the most recent Ballon D’Or vote. Alvaro Morata has a profile that suits Mourinho’s style of play more, while Kylian Mbappe is the best young talent in football. All three are great players and would improve the current United team.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains a Manchester United player and Mino Raiola has told TalkSPORT that the 35-year-old wants to stay at Old Trafford after a good first season at the club. He is currently rehabilitating his knee after contracting ligament damage in the team’s Europa League win over Anderlecht in April. The timetable of his recovery is unclear, but he would be unlikely to return until late this year.

“Oh, yes. He wants to stay in England he wants to stay at the top and if he sees that he can be a valuable asset for Manchester United, then why not Manchester United?

“He can be a valuable asset for some other top clubs also. But I think it is respectful to talk to Manchester United and to see what all parties want.”

It will be interesting to see what United do with Ibrahimovic as he remains a world class player, but it is a huge risk to extend his contract given the serious injury that he is recovering from. Before he picked up the knee ligament damage, the club were desperate to keep the 35-year-old, but they are now in the market for at least one striker and may be less open to a new deal. If they extended his contract and signed a world class striker, it would damage the development of Marcus Rashford who finished the season strongly.

Manchester United have been named as Europe’s most valuable club, in a new report by KPMG. The growing financial muscle of the Premier League was underlined by there being six English sides in the top ten. It is though that the league’s dominance will increase further in the coming years. United’s estimated ‘enterprise value’ rose by 7% to £2.71 billion, which means it moves ahead of Real Madrid in these rankings.

This study underlines the powerhouse that United still are and suggest that it is only a matter of time before they challenge for major honours again. It was important that they got back into the Champions League next season and they managed to do that with their Europa League triumph. They have the finances to push on from there on the pitch and another big summer of recruitment is expected.

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