Man Utd have genuine hope of pulling off incredible £184m double swoop next summer

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Man Utd chief Ed Woodward is reportedly hatching a plan to lure both Gareth Bale and Antoine Griezmann to Old Trafford next summer.

Both superstars were linked with a move to United this past summer, but neither eventually arrived with Romelu Lukaku emerging as their marquee signing this year to follow on from Paul Pogba 12 months ago.

According to the Manchester Evening News though, Man Utd’s commercial power has been on full display as nine of their players came in the top 30 most popular replica shirts sold since May 1 with Sports Direct, with Pogba and Lukaku holding number one and two.

Along with other data and figures, the report claims that this has given Woodward the justification needed to convince investors that these are sensible moves and shows that Man Utd can continue to attract the world’s biggest stars.

That’s where Bale and Griezmann come into it, as it’s suggested in the report that the pair will be back on United’s radar next summer, and they intend on flexing their commercial and financial muscle again with more marquee signings.

It’s certainly going to cost them as the Red Devils had reportedly agreed a £92m fee with Real Madrid for Bale this past summer, as reported by The Express, while the Metro note that Griezmann has a £92m release clause which can be exercised next summer, thus leaving it at a total of £184m in transfer fees.

Shirt sales don’t necessarily cater for transfer fees and the costs of bringing the players in, even though that seems to be a popular belief. However, this report seems to suggest that it’s the convincing of United’s owners and investors over the commercial viability of making these big-name signings that will see more game-changing signings be made next year.

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