Ander Herrera turns down Barcelona

Manchester United will face obstruction from Atletico Madrid in their attempts to sign Antoine Griezmann. The board at the Madrid club say that Griezmann is going to stay, but let’s be serious for a minute here. He has a release clause, and United have the money. All this is posturing until a fee is agreed or a clause is activated without the blessing of the club. Griezmann is almost certainly coming.

Ivan Perisic is the latest player to be linked with United this summer. He plays for Inter Milan, and was occasionally seriously impressive for Wolfsburg before his time in Italy. At 28, he is neither young nor a bargain, but he offers more pace than Juan Mata, and he is far less frustrating that Anthony Martial has been this season. Nevertheless, it’s not a wholly convincing signing, should it go through.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent hasn’t ruled out a stay in Manchester for Ibrahimovic. A deal for Ibrahimovic to finish with United in the second half of next season, then a move to America, might suit his need to play one more time in the best competition in world, and also gives him chance to ease back into football by coming off the bench for United. It’s hard to see another way for him to make a practical move in the current circumstances.

Jaap Stam could be joining United in the Premier League, but the play-off match against Huddersfield needs to be negotiated first. He’s done very well at Reading, and it is hard to imagine anyone being willing to upset him when they have to justify their efforts on the pitch at the end of the match.

Ander Herrera is due to start negotiating a new deal to stay at Old Trafford, which is good news for the club, as Barcelona are interested in bringing him to the club in the summer. It’s very hard to see just quite why Barcelona would stoop to bring in Herrera, but he is nevertheless a willing runner. For Manchester United’s point of view at least, he’s not worth the money of replacing now they own his registration.