The French international Antoine Griezmann has made it known he is interested in leaving Real Sociedad this summer, so it’s no surprise quite a lot of teams are after him, but it’ll probably come down to a couple of clubs: Bayern Munich or Tottenham.
Spurs are on of only two teams in the Premier League that have still not made any signings this summer. They’re looking for someone who can play on the left wing, although Griezmann, a very talented forward who played for France in the World Cup to mixed reviews, can do a lot more than simply torch the flank. He can play up front as a striker or on the right wing as well, constantly cutting to the middle.
He scored 20 goals in 49 appearances last season for Sociedad, the only club he has ever played for. He has been in San Sebastian since 2005, when he was 14. At 23, after 201 appearances and 52 goals for the club, propelling himself to be a starter for the French national team, he feels like it’s time to move on.
Bayern Munich are never satisfied with having quality players. After completing the sale of Toni Kroos to Real Madrid, they’re bound to make some moves in the transfer market. Griezmann pretty much plays on the spot Franck Ribery does, but Pep Guardiola had his hands full with talent and players stepping on each other’s toes last season and did reasonably well, although some were left unhappy and Bayern did crash out in the semifinals of the Champions League.
There’s an alleged buyout clause worth £24 million but we’ve seen teams ignore that “obligation” quite a few times in the past, although Bayern did find a way around it back when they were pursuing Javi Martinez in 2012. Griezmann isn’t likely to be costing anyone €40 million like Martinez, but Sociedad aren’t very likely to let him go easily as well, making life quite difficult with Asier Illarramendi last season, eventually sold to Real Madrid.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. have also been mentioned in the rumor mill regarding Griezmann.