Arsenal are claimed to be pursuing deals to sign Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, but I’m refusing to accept there is any truth in such, unless some concrete evidence arrives.
The French forward has been enhancing his profile since joining the Atleti from Real Sociedad in 2014, scoring 22 goals in each of the last two La Liga seasons, before firing his France side to the final of the European Championships with a Golden Boot winning tally of six goals.
Griezmann signed a new contract with his current club a matter of months ago, with his club keen to dismay any interest in their star player, but that is not believed to have put off Arsene Wenger, who is keen on landing the forward for his side.
The French attacker has a €100 Million release clause in his current contract, which currently translates to around £86 Million, but Arsenal are not believed likely to trigger the clause, and are working on an agreement with Atletico.
They are also said to be in the race to sign James Rodriguez from Real Madrid, who is claimed to be available for transfer, with Chelsea also keen. The Colombian was a €80 Million purchase only two years ago, after a thoroughly impressive World Cup campaign, but has seemingly fallen down the pecking order at the Bernabeu this term.
Real are claimed to be willing to accept a £51.5 Million fee for their attacking star, with a wealth of options already available int heir current squad.
The latter appears to be the most likely acquisition, with the Spanish giants seemingly happy to part ways with James, but our club has played down talk of big money signings.
Do you think we would pay the asking price for Rodriguez? Could we persuade Atletico for sell for less than Griezmann’s release clause?