Man Utd try to hijack £108m Antoine Griezmann transfer by warning Frenchman he is Barcelona’s No2 choice behind Neymar

MANCHESTER UNITED are refusing to give up on the £108million signing of French ace Antoine Griezmann.

The World Cup winning striker has set his sights on a move to Barcelona and has even agreed personal terms with the Catalan giants ready to trigger his Atletico Madrid release clause next week.

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But United are trying to convince the 28-year-old that Barcelona will dump their interest if they can force through a deal to bring Brazilian superstar Neymar back to the Camp Nou.

Barca are ready to offer former Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho in part-exchange for Neymar, after PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi signalled he has had enough of the South American’s off-field antics.

And United have used Barcelona’s failure to seal the deal as part of an approach to persuade Griezmann that he should throw in his lot with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s rebuilding project.

United need a trophy signing with Paul Pogba desperate to quit and Romelu Lukaku equally determined to leave the club.

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Griezmann would be all that and more although it is understood he is willing to wave goodbye to Champions League football for at least one season.

But with Griezmann having burned his bridges at Atletico, where he cannot now return, United will dangle a financial carrot in case the Barca move ends up falling through.

It comes after United vice-chairman Ed Woodward allegedly emailed club staff to tell them to expect “exciting” summer signings.

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The  claim to have seen an internal email sent by the Old Trafford chief around 10 minutes before the announcement of Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s £50m move from Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Woodward allegedly wrote: “Despite the inflated nature of the transfer market and constant speculation and stories, which can be misleading, the recruitment team - in conjunction with the manager - are working calmly behind the scenes to bring in other exciting players that fit their long-term vision for the club.”

Griezmann would certainly fit the billing following his successful World Cup winning campaign last summer scoring in the last four and final.

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