The teams who should sign Antoine Griezmann on loan this summer
By Ross Jackson
Poor old Barcelona have managed to get themselves into quite a pickle.
The La Liga giants are in financial turmoil after years of overspending and dishing out eye-watering wages, and for the second summer running they're on the verge of conducting the footballing equivalent of a car boot sale in Camp Nou's car park in a bid to lower their wage bill.
To be fair to them, last summer's fire sale went brilliantly as they shipped Luis Suarez off to Atletico Madrid and he subsequently led Diego Simeone's side to La Liga glory, so doing the same thing again this year is obviously a terrific idea.
With high earner Antoine Griezmann reportedly among those the Blaugrana are willing to cut ties with this summer, it'll come as no surprise to hear that a number of Europe's top clubs have been linked with a move for the Frenchman.
Given the fact a lot of sides are being forced to tighten their purse strings as they try to overcome the impact coronavirus has had on their finances due to lack of matchday revenue, a permanent move is likely to be out of the question for many, but a temporary switch could look very appealing.
With that in mind, 90min has taken a look at the clubs who should be weighing up a loan move for
Griezmann this summer...
1. Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has reportedly already ruled himself out of a move for Griezmann, but can he really afford to do so?
The City boss really needs to bring a new striker in this summer following the departure of Sergio Aguero, and with Gabriel Jesus failing to live up to the hype that surrounded his move to the Premier League, the club's attacking options look threadbare ahead of the 2021/22 season.
Guardiola looks to have ruled out moves for Harry Kane and Erling Haaland given the eye-watering fees that would be involved in moves for either of the hotshot forwards, so a loan move for Griezmann would both add to his attacking arsenal and make financial sense.
2. Borussia Dortmund
Speaking of sides needing to add goals to their side after the departure of a top talent.
One of Marco Rose's first jobs as Borussia Dortmund boss will be to bolster his attacking options following the sale of Jadon Sancho. The England man is expected to be announced as a Manchester United player any day now, meaning Der BVB will have lost a lot of goals and assists from their team.
While a loan move for Griezmann wouldn't be a long-term fix for the loss of Sancho, it would afford Dortmund some time to assess their options before bringing in a permanent replacement next summer.
3. Milan
Despite finishing second in Serie A last season, Milan were the lowest scorers of the top five teams in Italy's top flight and their lack of squad depth saw their title challenge fade away in the second half of the campaign.
Stefano Pioli will know he can't continue to rely so heavily on veteran forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the addition of Griezmann would make their frontline options look much healthier ahead of the 2021/22 season.
With Champions League football back on the Rossoneri's agenda for the first time since 2013/14, Pioli needs to add some quality to his squad and Griezmann's arrival would do just that.
4. Tottenham
It remains to be seen whether Tottenham will be in the market for Harry Kane's replacement at some point this summer, but with Gareth Bale's loan move coming to an end their frontline already looks weaker than last season.
Bale may not have been at his scintillating best during his loan spell in north London but he still chipped in with 11 Premier League goals, and if Spurs are serious about challenging for a place in the Champions League again then those goals will need replacing.
Steven Bergwijn does a lot of work for the good of the team but has lacked that killer instinct in front of goal since his move to England, and Griezmann could be a more attractive alternative.
5. Atletico Madrid
We'd suggest Barcelona wouldn't be daft enough to allow such a good player to join a direct rival, but Suarez's move to Atletico Madrid last season has already put that theory to bed.
It almost seems too ridiculous a story to make up that Atleti could sell Griezmann for an extortionate amount of money, only to then loan him back a few seasons later as he helps them fight off the challenge of Barcelona to retain their title - but this is Barça we're talking about and absolutely anything is possible.
The signing of Joao Felix hasn't really gone to plan so far and bringing Griezmann back to the club could be an option Simeone is keen to explore.
6. Chelsea
Even before they'd been crowned Champions League winners Thomas Tuchel had done a brilliant job at Chelsea, but don't be fooled into thinking they don't need to bolster their forward options.
The Blues bagged just 58 Premier League goals last season, with 90min exclusively revealing they're willing to offer Borussia Dortmund up to £150m to bring Erling Haaland to Stamford Bridge as they try to mount a title challenge next season.
However, Dortmund seem intent on keeping hold of their talisman and Griezmann could be an attractive alternative.