Saul Niguez’s agent ‘is in contact with Man United and Liverpool’ over a move for the Atletico Madrid star… despite Barcelona being desperate to swap Antoine Griezmann with the Spain midfielder to offload Frenchman’s £300,000-a-week wages
- Sportsmail reported about a Saul Niguez-Antoine Griezmann swap this week
- However, Manchester United and Liverpool are also said to be waiting to pounce
- Saul is out of favour at Atletico Madrid and has been played out of position
- The Reds are short of a midfielder following Georginio Wijnaldum’s departure
- Atleti want to do a deal with Barcelona in order to acquire Griezmann’s services
- Barca need to drastically cut their wage bill to finance Lionel Messi’s new deal
Manchester United and Liverpool are reportedly in contention to find Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez.
As Sportsmail reported on Wednesday, Barcelona and the LaLiga title winners are in advanced negotiations about the swap deal of the summer, with Saul moving to the Nou Camp and Antoine Griezmann returning to the Wanda Metropolitano.
And AS have now revealed that the two English giants could snap up the 26-year-old if talks with Barca fall through.
Saul Niguez is out of favour at Atletico Madrid and has been touted around to several clubs
Barcelona are talks with Atleti over a deal with Saul that would also involve Antoine Griezmann
Saul’s agent has also reportedly been in contact with both Liverpool and Manchester United
The Reds may be particularly interested in central midfield reinforcements following the departure of Georginio Wijnaldum to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month.
Saul has fallen out of favour with Diego Simeone and has not been allowed to gain a settled spot in his preferred area of central midfield, with the arrival of Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese shunting him further down the pecking order.
The Colchoneros are now seemingly willing to let their one-club man fly the nest for €40million (£34.3m), with Saul still having five years left on his current contract.
Barcelona meanwhile need to drastically cut their wage to comply with LaLiga’s strict salary cap as they prepare to put together a new deal for Lionel Messi.
With Griezmann’s wages in excess of £300,000 a week, he is the highest-paid player at the Nou Camp following the expiry of Messi’s old contract.
While Atleti are optimistic about striking a deal with their Spanish rivals, there is concern that Barca would be reluctant to send Griezmann back after just two seasons following the doomed decision to sell Luis Suarez to the Spanish capital club as the Uruguayan’s 21 league goals inspired last season’s run to the title.
Barca need to drastically cut their wage bill in order to finance a new contract for Lionel Messi
Rafa Mir has been floated as a possible signing for Diego Simeone if Saul moves to England
However, reaching an agreement with Barca would be more beneficial for Atleti than selling to Saul to England as they would get Griezmann in return.
If however, Saul does move to United or Liverpool, Wolves forward Rafa Mir has been touted as a possible arrival at the Wanda.
The 24-year-old has spent the last three seasons away from Molineux since arriving in 2018 and was Huesca’s top scorer in 2020-21 as the side were relegated to Spain’s second tier.
