Manchester United have moved ahead of Liverpool in line to sign Saul Niguez should his move to Barcelona break down.
Saul is a club man who comes through the Atletico youth squad and makes 337 appearances for Los Rojiblancos so far. But towards the end of last season, he fell into picking orders under Diego Simeone and both parties are now open for his departure.
While Athletes and Barça have been involved in the negotiations with Saúl Ñíguez and Antoine Griezmann, their manager, the Englishman Jonathan Barnett, is ahead of the negotiations with Manchester United that have taken a decisive step over the move, superior to Liverpool.
– Francesc Aguilar (@FApor_elmundo) July 18, 2021
The all-action midfielder has been most strongly linked to a move to Barcelona. That deal would see Antoine Griezmann – who only arrived at Camp Nou from Atleti two seasons ago – move in the opposite direction.
However, as reported by Francesc Aguilar, negotiations are currently stalled. This has led Saul’s agent Jonathan Barnett to start exploring alternative options. These include a possible move to the Premier League.
Liverpool are long-term admirers of Saul and have made a bid. The Reds are currently looking for a replacement for the influential Georginio Wijnaldum, who recently joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
Saul would fit the bill nicely, but their offer has now been gazumped by United. The red devils could do with some center reinforcements themselves, as it is generally considered to be their weakest area.
Of the trio of clubs interested in Saul, Barcelona need the deal the most – but not entirely on the spot. Blaugrana are hopeful of trimming their bloated salary costs by downloading Griezmann to his former club.
Saul Niguez celebrated a La Liga triumph last season / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
Barça must reduce their expenses significantly before the season begins. It is currently violating La Liga rules, preventing them from registering new players. This means that Eric Garcia, Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay will not yet be officially added to their group.
