Chelsea the better landing spot for jewel in Atletico’s crown

Given the funds sloshing around the Premier League’s biggest clubs these days it’s no surprise to see both Chelsea and Manchester United are potentially willing to pay through the schnoz to acquire Antoine Griezmann.

The morning gossip columns put said English behemoths in the frame to trigger an £84m release clause written into the striker’s current Atletico Madrid deal.

Although this rumour could well have originated from the same bone fide source that constantly has Lionel Messi on the verge of joining Manchester City or Gareth Bale being unveiled at Old Trafford, it does raise an interesting theoretical question.

Which club would France’s Euro 2016 superstar be better off joining? Griezmann is of course straight out of the contemporary stable of malleable goal getters, able to play as any prong of a three-man attack (preferably on the right though), and also very effective from the natural habitat of a number 10.

Hard-working as well as prolific, Griezmann is the modern forward’s forward and would grace any side, but it does seem to make more sense for him to choose blue instead of red – if he is ever faced with the choice.

At United currently there is something of a striker’s jamboree going on. Jose Mourinho is at pains to keep Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, Antony Martial, Marcus Rashford and dare his name be mentioned, Memphis Depay, happy.

As its stands, both Mkhitaryan and Mata are two world-class options vying for Griezmann’s preferred right-sided berth.

It’s not to say that Chelsea are starved of forward options. Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Willian, Pedro, Michy Batshuayi and potentially even forgotten man Victor Moses have claims under Conte.

However, persistent rumours that Costa is amenable to re-signing for Atletico at some point could be a critical factor in any potential negotiations, and simultaneously free up more room at Stamford Bridge.

Also, unless Pedro’s fortunes dramatically improve in his second season at Chelsea, the Spaniard would be another highly plausible makeweight in a deal which would re-house him in La Liga’s higher echelons.

Before any of this happens, though, there is just a wealth of speculation to chew through, which quite probably will amount to nothing, for the foreseeable at least.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.