Manchester United are under pressure this summer to improve their ranks, despite winning trophies in Jose Mourinho’s debut campaign in charge, and the Red Devils have their sights firmly set on Antoine Griezmann’s signature.

The French striker has been United’s prime transfer target for months and it’s been a rollercoaster ride for the club’s supporters, as Griezmann has spoke to suggest he will complete a move, denied transfer speculation and seen club officials declare he’s going nowhere.

However, the situation seems problematic for Atletico Madrid as reports suggest that Griezmann has requested a transfer away from Diego Simeone’s side this summer- and Atletico seem set to have the appeal on their transfer ban rejected.

With Atletico unable to sign replacements, they will fight tooth and nail to keep Griezmann at the club- but the French striker’s £86m release-clause leaves the door open for Manchester United to complete a move for the former Real Sociedad ace easily.

Manchester United have money to spend and are not prepared to make huge signings this summer, despite a huge expenditure last summer that saw Paul Pogba arrive for a club-record fee and further top-class additions move to the Old Trafford.

£86m for Griezmann would not break that record but it would certainly be close, showing that the Red Devils are genuine with their ambition to boast a Galatico side at Old Trafford that is capable of dominating domestic football and compete for the major honours on the continent.

However, the arrival of Griezmann wouldn’t solve all of the Red Devils issues and would instead fill the void left by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s untimely injury- which is set to see his time at Old Trafford end prematurely and leave the Red Devils with a huge hole to fill.

Griezmann would fit that hole but it wouldn’t fix all of the issues within Jose Mourinho’s side, with their defensive ranks still lacking and the potential exit of David De Gea this summer will leave another big hole to fill.

As mentioned, the Red Devils have an abundance of cash to spend in the transfer market but it is a concern to see the majority of the names linked to Manchester United being attacking ones- as the front-lines are the most stocked area of Mourinho’s squad right now.

Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial are all players capable of going toe-to-toe with the best on their day and any further attacking recruits would raise question marks on their future at Old Trafford.

With Manchester City completing early business and set to fill the holes in their squad rapidly, Manchester United must do the same- and this means focusing on areas that are not just their attack.