By Mark Weasley
Manchester United are starting to maintain a consistent run of form in recent weeks. The Red Devils have won three consecutive league games, and are slowly starting to put pressure on the teams above them in the race for Champions League qualification. It seems Jose Mourinho has finally found his first eleven, and that spells bad news for his rivals.
The Red Devils were shambolic at the start of the season, but have not lost since that 4-0 thumping at Stamford Bridge back in October. The likes of Darmian, Rojo and Jones have all solidified the backline in the absence of Bailly, Shaw and Smalling due to injury and lack of form.
Upfront, Zlatan Ibrahomovic continues to defy his age, but, at 35, he is on his last legs. The Swede has netted 11 Premier League goals, almost half of United’s total haul of 24. The support cast for the former PSG man is not bad, but don’t score enough goals, a fact which could hurt The Red Devils later on in the season,the likes of Rooney, Rashford and Martial have been poor in front of goal all season, and United may need to look elsewhere to find a proven and world class finisher.
Step forward, Antoine Griezmann. The 25-year-old Atletico Madrid man is one of the world’s best players, and is rumoured to favour a move to Old Trafford, as his close friend, Paul Pogba is already at the club.
Atletico boss, Diego Simeone is said to be disillusioned at the Vincente Calderon, and is pining for a move away, which could enable clubs bid for the France international. United would have to cough out in the region of £70m for his signature though, as he is under contract with the La Liga giants till the summer of 2021.
Griezmann is a forward player who is capable of playing on the wings, as a support striker or the target man. He joined Atletico from Real Sociedad in 2014 for a reported £25m fee and has since scored 66 goals in 128 appearances for the 2014 La Liga winners.
