Jose Mourinho considers £145m double swoop for Antoine Griezmann and Saul Niguez

Jose Mourinho is planning a £145m ($179m) double swoop for Atletico Madrid pair Antoine Griezmann and Saul Niguez in the summer with the Portuguese manager already looking at the longer term in order to get Manchester United back to their European peak. The Red Devils have spent heavily last summer, including a world record fee for midfielder Paul Pogba from Juventus.

The Times reports that United are confident that they can convince the Spanish club to part with the duo for much less than their release clause and are willing to wait till the summer in order to get their targets. The duo are tied to the club till 2021 and it is understood that the Red Devils have to make an incredible offer for the Spanish club to even consider letting them leave.

Griezmann is billed as the player who will take over the goalscoring reins from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is currently 35 and is unlikely to persist in the top flight for much longer. He has scored 62 goals in the league and Europe and was the standout player for France in the European Championships last summer. Mourinho plans to add at least four to five world class players to get United back to their Sir Alex Ferguson days and has been given the funds to accomplish this feat.

He is set to let a few players leave this January to make room for potential recruits, with Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin being the players tipped for a move out of Old Trafford. Depay has made only one first team start this season for the Red Devils, in the EFL Cup and has been heavily linked with a move to Everton.

Wayne Rooney is another player who is well past his prime and may consider moves to more lucrative places such as the Chinese Super league or the MLS. He is currently out injured and has not travelled for their trip to West Ham.