Barcelona 'identify' Manchester United target Antoine Griezmann as priority summer signing

Barcelona are believed to have identified Antoine Griezmann as the No1 target to bolster Ernesto Valverde's attack ahead of the 2018-2019 campaign.

Manchester United are also expected to battle for his services but Mundo Deportivo says that the Catalans are "optimistic" the Atletico Madrid star will favour a move to the Nou Camp to stay in La Liga.

Griezmann, 26, was poised to move to Old Trafford during the summer transfer window after admitting that his chances of moving to United were "six out of ten"

However, the France international eventually decided to commit his future to Atletico Madrid by signing a new deal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) upheld their Fifa transfer embargo – leaving them unable to sign a replacement.

Barcelona were also linked with the Frenchman later in the transfer window after they lost Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain.

However, the Catalans were finally forced to turn their attention to Ousmane Dembele after it emerged that Griezmann agreed to increase his release clause from €100m (£89.3m, $117m) to €200m as part of the new deal.

Mundo Deportivo now say that Barcelona plan to revive the interest in the summer as his clause will be reduced to €100m again after 1 July 2018.

The Spanish publication points out that such a fee could be considered a "bargain" in the current market for a player who scored 26 goals for Atletico Madrid during the 2016-2017 campaign.

Barcelona are expected to face competition from Manchester United to secure his services as Jose Mourinho still wants the Frenchman to partner Romelu Lukaku at Old Trafford.

Yet, the report says Barcelona are confident to win the race as Griezmann is "happy" in Spain. The former Real Sociedad star has a Spanish wife and has publicly admitted his doubts about moving to the Premier League due to the English weather.

Paulo Dybala has also been mentioned as a potential alternative for Barcelona in recent times but Mundo Deportivo says that manager Ernesto Valverde and transfer chiefs Pep Segura and Robert Fernandez believe Griezmann would be the ideal candidate to partner Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the attack.

This way Barcelona plan to act quickly and tie a deal with the Atletico Madrid star before the World Cup as they predict his reputation and transfer could increase even further after Russia.

Meanwhile, last week Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone already conceded that Griezmann could leave Los Colchoneros in the future if a deal is positive for all parties.

"If at some point he has to leave, he will leave because it is an important possibility for everyone," Simeone said to Cadena Ser.