BARCELONA ARE MAKING moves to bring Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann to the Catalan capital while Manchester City are eyeing Alexis Sanchez as clubs around Europe prepare for the January transfer window.
The winter window opens at one minute past midnight on January 1, but Barca are looking for a belated Christmas present in the France international.
Both players will likely move in the summer but deals could be struck in January, with Sanchez holding out for a reported £400,000-per-week ($535,000) deal from the runaway Premier League leaders when his contract runs out at the end of the season.
Mundo Deportivo claimed Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu has had dinner with Griezmann’s parents and sister, who manages the player’s affairs, and the club are looking to tie him down to a deal that would see him move in the summer.
Not even Atletico’s complaint to FIFA about Barca’s public pursual of their star is likely to stop the move from happening, with Barca director Guillermo Amor as good as admitting the meeting took place.
In August, Griezmann’s former agent Eric Ohalts revealed that the France forward would have moved to Manchester United in the summer had FIFA not upheld a transfer ban that stopped the Madrid club from buying any reinforcements, and now Barca are ready to swoop.
Barca still have full coffers after receiving 222 million euros ($263 million) from the world record-busting sale of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain and Griezmann’s 100 million euros buyout clause means the club only need to agree personal terms, avoiding the problems they encountered when they failed to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in August.
Barcelona are however still keeping tabs on Coutinho and could make a lower bid than the 100 million euros they were prepared to pay in the summer.
Ligue 1
After the Neymar signing, Paris Saint-Germain have got to sell players to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
Inter Milan are among those looking at PSG midfielder Javier Pastore, who admitted last month he was “disappointed” at his lack of first-team action.
PSG coach Unai Emery admitted that Brazilian midfielder Lucas Moura and French international striker Hatem Ben Arfa are interested in leaving in January, but said nothing about Pastore and Angel Di Maria, who has expressed his annoyance at being forced out of the first team by new arrivals Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Liverpool and Arsenal are keen on PSG’s Julian Draxler, but the German international has revealed that he has no plans to leave Paris after finding a new role in Emery’s team.
The Qatari-backed Parisians were rumoured to be interested in AC Milan’s rising star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, but after reports of the stopper complaining about being coerced into signing his summer six million-euro contract extension, the club and player — and crucially his powerful agent Mino Raiola — have made moves towards a reconciliation.
PSG have given themselves an FFP boost after agreeing the 35-million-euro sale of 21-year-old talent Gonzalo Guedes with Valencia, where the Portugal international is currently on loan from the Ligue 1 leaders.
Premier League
The sharks are circling Arsenal, as not just Sanchez but other attacking stars Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud head towards potential Gunners exits.
City were denied Sanchez on the summer’s deadline day, but City boss Pep Guardiola has indicated he may now wait until the summer before making his move.
Sanchez is reportedly unhappy at Arsenal, and the London club are prepared to open negotiations with City — knowing that Chelsea and Real Madrid are also both interested — to avoid seeing the Chilean star leave on a free transfer in the close season.
City’s local rivals Manchester United are looking at the Gunners’ other attacking star Ozil, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan the likely player to make way for the Germany international.
United boss Jose Mourinho is a long-time admirer of his former Real Madrid charge but the Reds could wait until his contract expires at the end of the season if no-one else makes a winter move.
Giroud could leave as Borussia Dortmund look for a partner for star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Chelsea’s attacking dynamo Eden Hazard is a top target for Real Madrid, and should the Belgian make a post-World Cup move to Spain, Real’s Marco Asensio is keen on joining Guardiola at City. Real are not normally a club that does business in the winter window.
Chelsea are pondering an £80 million bid for Monaco star Thomas Lemar, with Blues striker Michy Batshuayi a potential makeweight as he seeks first-team football to boost his chances of making the Belgian World Cup squad.
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha is also a target for Antonio Conte’s side, as is Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, who was denied a summer move to Liverpool, while out-of-favour Blues centre-back David Luiz has Juventus and Real Madrid keen on his signature.
- © AFP 2017
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
