From Madrid to Manchester : Griezmann the Red Devil

The January transfer window. Where out-of-favour players move to seek new career challenges, where clubs at the top bulk their squad up to make it over the finish line first, and where relegation-threatned sides make their last gasp effort in order to avoid the trap door.

Perhaps the biggest transfer rumour this time round is France and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, who has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League, with Manchester United.

If the move happens, questions will be floating around the Frenchman's head. How will he do? Will he suceed? Will he flop?

Well, I have those answers. Kind of.

I moved Griezmann to Manchester United via the in-game editor and simulated a full season just to see how he coped. Here are the results. Enjoy.

This is what Griezmann's stats look like just after he was transferred to United.

As you can see, he has a lot of green stats and high blue stats. Understandably, as he is a striker, his 'movement' stat is highest with 19, which reflects on the pitch.

His 'crossing', 'dribbling' and 'shooting' stats then stand at the second highest, all with a score of 18. His value also stands out, with a huge £73m pricetag hovering over Griezmann's head, making him one of the most expensive players on the game.

Also, as you can see on the far right of the screenshot, Griezmann can use both his left foot and his right foot, making him a dream for pretty much every manager. Position-wise, he is also very useful, as he can play as a centre forward, attacking midfielder, and out wide on the left.

Everything looks decent...

The French Daniel Sturridge?

At first glance, the title looks crazy. But bear with me.

2 months into the season, Antoine Griezmann suffered a calf strain, which put him out for 2 months. Not exactly a brilliant start to his Manchester United career...

He'll come back stronger. I'm sure of it.

Another injury for Griezmann in December then put him out for a month. This time, it was a sprained ankle. Nothing seems to be going right for Griezmann at all.

It doesn't end there.

Not quite as bad as the previous two injuries, Antoine Griezmann then sprained his neck, which left him out of action for a week. Someone in the physio room at Manchester United aren't doing their job properly...

Griezmann then had 3 months of footballing action, before this happened.

A twisted ankle in May meant Griezmann was out of action for another month, suffering a twisted ankle, missing important matches including the semi-final matches against Borussia Mochengladback in the UEFA Europa League.

All these injuries meant that Griezmann was out for a total of 4 months and a week, which is almost half a season considering a season lasts for 10 months. Not a great season for Griezmann at all.

Despite all these injuries, however, Antoine Griezmann still managed to rack up 7 goals in 19 appearances for Manchester United, assisting his team-mates on 3 occasions. He also averaged a rating of 7.26 in his matches, which isn't too bad in the end.

End of Season Profile

It's fair to say Antoine Griezmann had an injury cursed season at Manchester United. Although he missed almost half of the domestic season, he has still managed to improve his stats, and rapidly increase his value.

Griezmann's value has now gone up feom £73m to £92m, which is almost a £20m increase. His stats have also increased, with his 'movement', 'crossing' and 'dribbling' stats now all standing at the maximum of 20.

Pretty much all of his stats have improved, which isn't too bad for a player who suffered 4 injuries.

Hope you all enjoyed this little simulation. Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

[Jack]

Well he still did better than Memphis Depay..

[Dec]

Really interesting how he got injured so much. Wonder if that is the strain of the Premier League or just being unlucky.

[Robbrown172]

3 hours ago, Dec said:

Really interesting how he got injured so much. Wonder if that is the strain of the Premier League or just being unlucky.

It was strange. Every time I checked his profile after holidaying a month, he was almost always injured with little knocks or more serious injuries like ones shown in the screenshots.

Still, he improved massively in terms of stats, and his value went up to £92m. Just think how much more he would have improved, if it hadn't been for all those injuries...