Chelsea Transfer News: Blues Reportedly Targeting Antoine Griezmann

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann is reportedly open to a move to Chelsea during the summer transfer window, according to The Telegraph's Matt Law:

According to Law, the France international will hold off on renegotiating his contract for the foreseeable future, as he wants to see whether the Blues make an attempt to activate a buyout clause rumoured to be £43 million:

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Atletico Madrid are keen to renegotiate Griezmann’s current contract to increase the £43 million buy-out clause that was inserted into his deal after joining from Real Sociedad last summer.

Griezmann, though, is understood to be trying to find out what the extent of Chelsea’s interest is before he makes any further decisions over his long-term furture.

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Law goes on to state Chelsea have been tracking Griezmann for years and are looking to strike before the buyout clause is lowered after the Frenchman's phenomenal first season in the Spanish capital.

Griezmann isn't the only Atletico star being linked to Stamford Bridge, according to Gianluca Di Marzio and Sky Sports' Fabrizio Romano:

The 24-year-old joined Atleti from Real Sociedad in the summer of 2014 and has enjoyed a spectacular first season with the defending Spanish champions. He has already scored 25 goals this season, according to WhoScored.com, and was voted last month's La Liga Player of the Month, as noted by AS English:

Griezmann is an incredibly gifted winger who was one of the main prizes of last year's summer transfer window, and it's difficult to envision a scenario in which the player will leave Atletico after just a single season.

Atleti already lost two key contributors to the Blues last season in Diego Costa and Filipe Luis, and as a result have been somewhat less competitive this season. With a host of Diego Simeone's favourite players now once more linked to Stamford Bridge, the Argentinian manager won't be keen to go through all of that again.

Bleacher Report's Garry Hayes hopes to see a new wide forward join Costa and Eden Hazard to transform Chelsea's attack into one of the deadliest on the planet, and while he highlighted Real Madrid's Gareth Bale, Griezmann would also fit the bill:

But the scenario remains highly unlikely, even if Griezmann would be treated as the Blues' main transfer target for the summer. The France international has lived in Spain since 2009 and has yet to give any signal that he may not be happy in the capital or with Atletico.

It's hard to see how the Blues would convince both Simeone and Griezmann that a transfer would be in their best interests.

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