Chelsea will rival any attempt by Manchester United to prise Antoine Griezmann out of Atletico Madrid in future transfer windows after watching him for the last two years.
United are monitoring Griezmann’s situation at Atletico, with Spanish reports claiming manager Diego Simeone could seek a new challenge The end of the season.
That would put a huge question mark against the future of Griezmann, who has suggested that he will look to leave Atletico if Simeone goes.
United, though, will face strong competition for Griezmann, not least from Chelsea who are big admirers of the striker and could be prepared to break the bank to get him
Chelsea have been watching the progress of Griezmann ever since he joined Atletico from Real Sociedad in 2014 with the view of one day making a move.
Griezmann has a 100million Euro release clause in the latest Atletico contract he signed in June, which currently converts to £84m. That would comfortably break Chelsea’s transfer record, but may seem relatively good value for money with the way fees are heading by next summer.
Chelsea made offers for Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku this summer, but were not able to tempt either Real Madrid or Everton into selling.
Rather going for a back-up option, Chelsea shelved their striker search which means there is still space in the squad and the budget to resume the hunt when they feel the time is right.
Diego Costa could also give Chelsea a big advantage over United if both clubs do decide to launch bids for Griezmann.
The Spanish club pushed hard to try to re-sign the 27-year-old this year, but Chelsea would not sell. Costa himself has admitted he would have liked to have gone back to Atletico, but, while he is happy to stay for this season, the prospect of a return is likely to be raised again next year.
Despite fighting to keep him this summer, Chelsea may well be prepared to let Costa re-sign for athletico
if it meant landing Griezmann, who finished Euro 2016 as top scorer with six goals.
Costa has netted twice for Chelsea so far this season and has been joined at Stamford Bridge by David Luiz, who he clashed with in the Champions League last year.
John Obi Mikel joked that Luiz must be “nice” to Costa when he welcomed the defender back to Chelsea last week, but the Brazilian is glad to now call the Spain international his team-mate.
Asked if he is pleased to be on the same side as Costa, Luiz said: “Yes! He was an amazing player when I was playing against him. He is a guy who gives everything for your team and now I am on his side, for sure I have a great striker for my team and with the spirit of love for football, with passion, so I am happy for that.”
The arrival of Luiz gives head coach Antonio Conte the option of switching to a back three, which he employed for Italy, or sticking with the four-man central defence he has started the season with.
Luiz also played as a defensive midfielder during his first spell at Chelsea, which gives Conte another option to consider as he plots how to best utilise the 29-year-old. “I started playing three at the back with Vitoria in Brazil, but it doesn’t matter where, I want to help and when I am in the team I am there to try to help,” said Luiz.
“The coach is an amazing coach, he understands a lot of tactical things and I know he chooses every match the best line up, so if he needs to play three, four or two, it doesn’t matter, I am there if he wants me to play. In different positions I am available.”
Luiz won the Champions League, FA Cup and Europa League during his first spell at Chelsea and is now desperate to add the Premier League title to his list of honours with the club.
Asked about the possibility of winning the Premier League, Luiz replied: “It is time to do it! And I hope it will be this year. I am working hard for that and this is our goal this season. We don’t have the Champions League to fight for, so, for sure, we will try to win the Premier League and both cups.”
Chelsea face Swansea City on Sunday, before entertaining Liverpool and then travelling to Arsenal in the Premier League.
“My first game for Chelsea was Liverpool at home,” said Luiz. “It is big, but they are always tough games here. Against Swansea it will not be easy, I played in draws there before, so it is always a tough game. Then in the league after Liverpool it is a London derby. They will be tough games.”
Advertisement
