Barcelona superstar, Antoine Griezmann, has been told to take inspiration from Paul Pogba’s situation at Manchester United by France coach, Didier Deschamp. The French superstar is struggling at the Nou Camp and things have only gotten worse despite seeing improvements in his recent performances.
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Antoine Griezmann has definitely improved at Barca compared to previous seasons, having scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists in 37 matches across all competitions this season but it’s still nowhere near what’s expected of a player of his caliber.
The 29-year-old is now being linked with a move away from the Nou Camp, especially with Ronald Koeman finding success in a formation that does not require the Frenchman. The Dutch coach has recently adapted a 3-5-2 formation with full-backs Jordi Alba and Sergino Dest joining the three-man midfield of Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, and Pedri.
This greatly adds to Barca’s presence in the midfield while allowing the full-backs to contribute to the attacking play for the team. With Lionel Messi as the undisputed attacker, Koeman has found immense success when placing Ousmane Dembele alongside him. The French winger’s pace, shooting, and dribbling has been Barca’s solutions to break the opposition’s defense on many occasions.
This formation, however, forces the coach to use attackers like Griezmann, Martin Braithwaite, and Francisco Trincao as substitutes. While the French star has been used in the attack in place of Dembele, all three of the benched substitutes have found an equal amount of success.
Unfortunately for Griezmann, this means that Koeman is not forced to use the World Cup winner and could even choose to sell him in the summer to help with the club’s finances. France national team coach, Deschamp, however, maintains full faith in Griezmann’s abilities.
France coach gives his take on Antoine Griezmann
Speaking to beIN Sports on the Frenchman’s situation at Camp Nou, Deschamp said,
"“He may not be playing at his best, but that is not to question his quality. It would be indecent to question his presence in the national team.Source Goal"
Didier believes that Griezmann should compare his situation with teammate Pogba and take inspiration,
"“In November, Paul was going through an even more difficult period with Manchester United. Being with us gave him a boost and he had a great game against Portugal. Antoine’s case is the same, it’s a matter of trust.”“They know that in the France team they are in a different environment. All the players can go through a bad period at their club, but I maintain the confidence I have in them.”"
Having said that, Deschamp did send a warning to Greizmann that the above is only true as long as he maintains his positive performances in a French shirt.
"“The players must bear in mind that there is competition. If at some point I think that a young man has less experience but can bring something more to the team, I will not hesitate to count on him.”"
It remains to be seen what happens with Griezmann at Barca but one thing is for sure that Koeman will continue to count on the French superstar as his presence has been much appreciated on many occasions this season, especially his contribution in the remontada performed against Sevilla. Barca now looks to repeat that performance against PSG where they are currently 4-1 down.
Should Barca keep or sell Antoine Griezmann?