Antoine Griezmann is a Frenchman with a lot of potential. The sought after 22 year old has been on the radar of numerous English clubs, including heavyweights Arsenal, who are rumoured to be leading the chase for the U21 international. Currently playing at Real Sociedad, the player has a bright future ahead of him.
This has not been the first time the Sociedad player has been in the transfer limelight. In April 2010, he snubbed the chance of signing for Manchester United, Arsenal and several Ligue 1 clubs including Lyon & Saint Etienne by signing a 5 year deal until 2015, with a buy-out clause of €30m. His reason behind his loyalty to the Spanish side was the plethora of first team appearances given to him.
The striker, come left winger was handed his first appearance for the Basque team on the 2nd September 2009 in a 2-0 Copa del Rey defeat to Rayo Vallecano. While most 19 year olds are phased into the squad, Griezmann was thrusted in at the deep end by receiving an automatic first team slot. In his debut season he recorded 40 appearances in all competitions and also bagged 6 goals in Sociedad's promotion to the Primera Division. A decent start to the young man's career.
His first taste of La Liga action came on the 29 August 2010 against Valencia in a game in which they won by a goal to nil. For the rest of that season Sociedad were gripped in a fierce relagation battle and were to come out on top, just 2 points clear from the drop zone. In the process, Antoine Griezmann netted 7 goals in 38 appearances for the relegation contenders.
The 2011/2012 season saw more exceptional performances from the attacker, in which he represented the Txuri-urdin 38 times, scoring 8 times and assisting 4 times. Last season also provided Sociedad with more entertainment from the Frenchman, as he netted 11 goals in 35 games.
As of this season, Griezmann has enjoyed an exquisite opening half, already scoring 5 more goals than last year with still over a quarter still to go. He is definitely on course to smash 20 goals this season and his performances will certainly have alerted Mr. Wenger.
I tip Antoine Griezmann to do very well whether it be at Real Sociedad, Arsenal or another team. As with many of my transfer targets, any movement in the market will be unlikely with it being World Cup Year. Although he is yet to make a senior international appearance for France, he will be hoping that his glorious season to date will be enough to convince French coach Didier Deschamps to buy him a ticket to Brazil in June.
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