What’s the Story?
Manchester United and Chelsea have both reportedly placed bids to trigger the 86 million GBP release clause on Atletico Madrid’s Yannick Carrasco as per the Spanish publication Don Balon. The Belgian superstar’s agent Christophe Henrotay has also been inundated with inquiries from Manchester City and Juventus, they claim.
In case you didn’t know
Yannick Carrasco has been the lone bright spot in what has been a see-saw season for Atletico Madrid. Primarily a left sided inside-forward, he can play anywhere along the front line – making him a prized asset to modern coaches who require such versatility from their attacking players. He is 10 goals and 3 assists this season (all tournaments) and has come up the pecking order to complement Antoine Griezmann as Diego Simeone’s chief attacking threats.
The heart of the matter
Chelsea are the team most in need of Carrasco’s services as it appears that the relationship between Antonio Conte and Diego Costa has reached the point of no return. Not known to bend down to player’s wills, Conte is scouring Europe’s top leagues for a replacement and appears to have narrowed down on Carrasco – who, if he comes, will become part of an extremely fluid front three.
Jose Mourinho and Manchester United, meanwhile, are always on the lookout for talent, and with Memphis Depay vacating the no. 7 shirt at Old Trafford, the Belgian sensation would be a perfect fit for a team that is attempting to mend its reputation and climb back on top of the pile.
What next?
Neither Roman Abrahamovic nor Ed Woodward and the United board are likely to be repelled by the 86 million release clause, and with Atletico struggling to assert themselves in La Liga, they will see this as the perfect opportunity to trigger it.
Sportskeeda’s Take
While there is no doubting Carrasco’s quality, I do not think he’s the right man for either club. What Conte is after is a target man, with a degree of versatility, of the nature of Costa and while Carrasco has the potential to develop into such a player, he will take a bit of time. Abrahamovic, however, will be looking for instant results. Meanwhile, at United Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are among those who covet the starting positions in a starting lineup where only Zlatan Ibrahimovic can claim to have a starting place pegged down.
