PHILIPPE COUTINHO’s move to Barcelona has opened the door for Antoine Griezmann to join the La Liga giants in the summer.
That’s according to Spanish newspaper AS, who claim Barcelona opted against giving Coutinho the number seven shirt in the hope of enticing Griezmann with the vacant top.
Barcelona have spent over £350million on Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi’s contract extension since the summer.
But they remain keen on further strengthening their forward line with an eye for the future.
Both Messi and Luis Suarez are crucial to Barcelona’s success but both players are the other side of 30.
While their talents are far from deteriorating with the South American duo scoring 54 goals between them, the Nou Camp outfit are planning for the future.
And AS claim Griezmann remains a huge part of their plans despite question marks on how he would fit into the current squad.
The 26-year-old has scored seven goals in his last two La Liga matches and became the first French player in the Spanish top flight’s history to score four times in a single game after Atletico Madrid’s win over Leganes earlier this week.
But Barcelona’s reported interest in Griezmann hasn’t gone down well with Messi.
The Argentina international is reportedly against the signing of Griezmann as he doesn’t believe he would help the immediately help the team.
The striker is set to be one of the summer transfer window’s hottest properties with a number of clubs considering meeting his £88m release clause.
