Jordi Alba backs Barcelona to sign 'top' Antoine Griezmann after chief hints at approach

Jordi Alba has encouraged Barcelona to sign "top" Manchester United target Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid after claiming that any signing who can make Ernesto Valverde's squad stronger will be welcomed at the Nou Camp.

Last week The Independent reported that senior figures at Atletico and United were starting to concede that the French forward will move to the Catalan side at the end of the current season.

Mundo Deportivo fueled the saga on Sunday (17 December) after revealing that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu recently met with Griezmann's family to discuss his potential move to the La Liga giants.

United are also said to be interested in the France forward but the Spanish publication claimed that Barcelona would be ready to meet his full €100m (£88.2m, $118m) release clause to win the race and lure him to Valverde's side ahead of the 2018-2019 campaign.

Barcelona head of sporting and institutional relations Guillermo Amor failed to deny the meeting when asked about those reports during an interview with Movistar.

"Well. If the newspaper says so, it may be the case. There may well have been an approach," Amor admitted following the Catalans' 4-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna. "I don't know. There is a good relationship, there can also be conversations. Rumours are inevitable in the football world. In Griezmann's case there are many players that you can talk to and enter some kind of relationship with, in the event an opportunity arises. The club usually carry out this kind of work."

And Alba has welcomed the revelations from Amor after claiming that Griezmann is proving to be a "top" player at Atletico Madrid.

"We are talking about a top player. He is doing things very well at Atletico Madrid in recent years. Everyone who comes to make the team stronger will be good," Alba said to Onda Cero when he was asked about Amor's revelations.

"I already said at the beginning of the season that the squad is very good. We are doing things very well. We will see who comes in the January window and in the summer. In the meantime the ones that are already here have to fight for all the titles."

Alba's also mentioned the possibility of new players joining Barcelona in January with Mundo Deportivo adding in its Sunday [17 December] report that the Catalans still hope to sign Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho and Palmeiras centre-back Yerry Mina ahead of the second part of the season.

Indeed, club captain Andres Iniesta himself admitted last week that both players would be "important reinforcements" for Valverde's side to fight for La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey in the second half of the season.