Barcelona have been in contact with Antoine Griezmann for several weeks, severely damaging Manchester United’s long-held hopes of signing the Frenchman.
Griezmann has been repeatedly linked with a move away from Atletico Madrid and came close to moving to Old Trafford in the summer, only to commit to Atleti when they were handed a transfer ban that runs until January.
He is once again being linked with a transfer away, with Atletico allegedly already preparing for his departure, though according to Le10sport it is Barcelona who now hold the upper hand.
The French website claims Barca have stepped up their chase for the 26-year-old forward and have been in secret contact with him for several weeks over a possible move.
Discussions between the two parties are now at a very advanced stage, to the point that they are close to agreeing terms in principle on a future contract.
Although Griezmann would happily join Barca – and prefers to stay in Spain over moving to Manchester – the Catalan club must now start negotiations with Atletico Madrid.
A January transfer is unlikely, despite Diego Costa finally becoming eligible for Atletico when the transfer window reopens, with a summer switch more plausible.
The news will be a major blow to Jose Mourinho, who had hoped to revive his move for Griezmann as he looks for more firepower up front.
The Frenchman had been his top target, though United were forced to rethink their transfer strategy when Zlatan Ibrahimovic got injured.
United quickly switched targets to a proper No.9 in Romelu Lukaku rather than a No.10 like Griezmann – though now they may have missed out on him for good.