Manchester United plotting £50m bid for Alexandre Lacazette after Griezmann disappointment

Manchester United have turned their attention to Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette after it was made clear that they will be unable to sign Antoine Griezmann this summer after Atletico Madrid's transfer ban imposed by Fifa was upheld following an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The Spanish capital club were favourite to land Lacazette, but their ban ensures that they will not be able to sign any players until the 2018 January transfer window. They are unlikely to allow any of their players to leave this summer as they cannot bring in replacements.

Jose Mourinho is keen to bolster his forward line after seeing his team struggle to score goals last season and has made signing a striker a priority. United managed just 54 goals last season in the Premier League, which puts them eight on the list even behind Bournemouth.

According to the Mirror, the Red Devils are plotting a £50m ($64.3m) move for Lacazette in order to beat competition from Liverpool and Arsenal, who are also interested in signing the striker. The France international has made it clear that he will leave this summer as he seeks a new challenge away from Lyon.

Lacazette has had yet another prolific season in Ligue 1 scoring 37 goals in all competitions and has made it clear that he will only join a club in the Champions League. United and Liverpool will have the advantage over Arsenal after the Gunners dropped down to the Europa League for the first time in 20 years.

Apart from the 26-year-old Frenchman, the 20-times English champions have also been linked with moves for Romelu Lukaku, Alvaro Morata and Andrea Belotti. The former two are heavily linked with a move to Chelsea; while the latter, who has just had one good season with Torino in the Serie A has a €100m release clause.