![By DSanchez17 from St Albans, England (Copa del Rey - Atlético Madrid) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/9a293cf733672d2637a67b662e595e00f01f7b997947781afc1f6326595b10e4.jpg "By DSanchez17 from St Albans, England (Copa del Rey - Atlético Madrid) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons")
According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea FC is now the odds-on favorite to sign Atletico Madrid winger Antoine Griezmann. Bookmakers around England have decreased the odds significantly on the Frenchman making the move to Stamford Bridge after it received significant backing. The odds for Chelsea to sign him are 4/5, Bayern Munich is at 6/1, Arsenal at 20/1, and PSG and Barcelona are at 33/1.
The move has been rumored to take place for some time now as the Blues are looking for a significant upgrade to their attacking talent on the left wing opposite Eden Hazard. Brazilian international Willian has held down that position for two years now and while he works extremely hard he does not pose much of a goal scoring threat.
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Juan Cuadrado was brought in to replace Andre Schurrle who left to Wolfsburg in search of regular first team football. Cuadrado has not quite panned out at Chelsea FC and in a surprise move they are expected to sell him back to a Serie A club this summer. He joined Chelsea just six months ago but did little to warrant a place in the team in his limited chances.
Griezmann on the other hand has set La Liga alight with 22 goals, a record for French internationals in Spain according to the Standard, in his first season at Atletico Madrid. He made the move there from Real Sociedad for 24 million just last year, ignoring advances from “bigger” clubs such as Arsenal and Paris Saint Germain. Jose Mourinho also revealed that he was interested in the 24 year old but the price was too steep and he opted to sign Mohamed Salah instead.
Now it appears that Mourinho and Chelsea are ready to make up for that mistake and spend some serious cash on one the best goalscorers in Spain not named Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale. There are rumors of Griezmann’s release clause being triggered but that would set off all kinds of tax issues in Spain so if the deal is going to go through it likely will be at a price below the official release clause. This of course still depends on whether or not Griezmann actually wants to leave Atletico.
They are a club that plays Champions League football and are just a year removed from the La Liga title and a runner-up finish in Europe. They have a fantastic young coach in Diego Simeone and appear to be the only real threats to the Real Madrid-Barcelona dichotomy.
Chelsea FC is one of the biggest clubs in the world but if a player is happy where he is and is playing football at its highest level then he may not be so inclined to leave. Griezmann is a wonderful talent that would immediately improve the squad but he is no good to anyone if he does not want to come to Stamford Bridge.
Next: Romelu Lukaku Fuels Summer Transfer Speculation