Manchester United legend Eric Cantona urges club to consider signing Javier Pastore over Antoine Griezmann

Manchester United have been advised to pursue a move for Javier Pastore instead of signing Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann by legendary former forward Eric Cantona.

Though Barcelona have recently emerged as the main contenders to acquire France international Griezmann to bolster their attacking ranks, Jose Mourinho is a known admirer.

United came close to secure a move for Griezmann, who has a release clause of €100m, last summer but now look set to miss out on the 26-year-old when the summer transfer window opens at the end of the current season.

But if the club have any ambition of trying to sign Greizmann they should abandon them according to Cantona – who achieved iconic status during five years at Old Trafford between 1992 and 1997 – who would prefer his former side go after Paris Saint-Germain's Pastore.

"I love Pastore," he told United centric YouTube channel FullTimeDevils. "He plays for Paris but he doesn't play in the team. They have two great players - Pastore and [Hatem] Ben Arfa and neither of them play.

"Yes [Griezmann would be a good signing], why not? But Pastore is very special. Pastore will surprise you every time. Every time he touches the ball he surprises you - he gives the ball to someone no-one had seen before. He surprises all the fans.

"I think he is a great player. He played for Argentina, which is a great country - but he doesn't play for Paris, which is a small club."

In the wake of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar's arrival at the Parc des Princes in the summer, Pastore has made just 10 appearances this season – in part down to injury- and has been heavily linked with a move away from the French capital.

Chelsea and Liverpool are both been mentioned as possible January destinations, while La Liga club Sevilla and Serie A side Roma are braced to go head-to-head for the 28-year-old, according to Spanish publication Sport.

The Sun understand he would be available for around £17m, with PSG eager to balance their books after a record-breaking summer.

United meanwhile are not expected to make any significant signings during the January transfer window, particularly in attacking positions after they welcomed back Zlatan Ibrahimovic from seven months out with a knee injury.

Mourinho may feel the need to improve his defensive options with Phil Jones and Eric Bailly currently out injured but the likelihood is it will be a quiet winter at the Theatre of Dreams.

Despite interest from some big name clubs in Europe, Pastore's agent is pushing for his client to join Inter Milan, who are currently second in the Italian top flight.

"Luciano Spalletti is a great coach, the best in Italy," representative Marcelo Simonian told FCInterNews.it, according to Talksport.

"Bringing in Pastore would be an historic opportunity for the Nerazzurri to get back to their winning ways of the recent past.

"We'll see if their Chinese owners can sniff out a deal and make the most of having those two phenomenal Inter directors on their books."