Transfers: Latest news, rumours and gossip for Man Utd - Niguez has reported £18m buy-out clause but it is thought player has no desire to quit Atletico Madrid.
United make move for Niguez
United have made their first move for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez with a reported £15.3m bid.
That is according to Guillem Balague, but the Spanish journalist adds that Atletico are unwilling to sell the 21-year-old following their transfer ban.
Diego Simeone's side will be unable to buy anyone after the current window until the summer of 2017 and are looking to keep hold of their bright talent.
Niguez has a reported £18m buy-out clause but it is thought the player has no desire to quit Spain.
“The latest I've heard is Manchester United have put an offer of €20m (£15.3m) on the table but Atletico Madrid don't want to let him go,” Balague said.
“And considering the ban, they won't let him go, so I think that's the end of that. Even if they met the buy-out clause, the player still has to want to go, and as it stands, he doesn't."
Niguez has scored five goals in 22 appearances this season.
08:45
Real back in for De Gea
Real Madrid's transfer ban at the end of this month looks to have spurred them into action and they're now ready to trigger the £30m release clause in David de Gea's contract ASAP.
With the Spanish giants unable to sign anyone until the summer of 2017, they are hoping to get some major business done before the end of the month.
Real failed to sign the Spanish goalkeeper during the last transfer window but now appear set to meet his buy-out clause. According to the Sun, the player is still keen on the move.
De Gea did sign a fresh contract at Old Trafford at the start of the season after his move to the Bernabeu fell through at the last minute, but Real do not appear to be put off by the £30m release fee that would seal his exit.
08:00
Roundup of Saturday's stories
Real Madrid’s transfer ban has changed the landscape of this January transfer window, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale – two superstars who looked to be edging closer to the exit at the Bernabeu – now certainly set to stay put.
• Top 50 transfer targets in the January window
Club executives at Old Trafford were no doubt desperately unhappy at the news, with the club having long courted the interest of former Spurs star Bale. But the transfer ban doesn’t mean the English club have ended their interest in all of Madrid’s players. Certainly not if Goal are to be believed.
They report that Louis van Gaal – who is eager to make at least one extravagant January signing to revitalise the mood at Old Trafford with the business end of the season fast approaching – has been alerted to the unhappiness of James Rodriguez, whose future is looking increasingly uncertain.
New manager Zinedine Zidane dropped the Colombian to the bench for his first game in charge, a thumping 5-0 win against Deportivo, and in a recent press conference announced that he had no plans to shake up Madrid’s Galactico attacking front line of Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo.
His preferred tactical system is to meanwhile play Marcelo and the very promising Dani Carvajal as rampaging wing-backs, necessitating a slightly deeper midfield three. True to form, against Depor he played Isco, Modric and Kroos in these central positions, meaning there was no room for James, who is more accustomed to playing as a forward-cum-trequartista.
The 24-year-old is now said to be considering his options, and Manchester United’s interest has been further piqued by his agent, Jorge Mendes. Mendes has worked with the Old Trafford hierarchy extensively in recent years, on a number of high-profile transfers.
And with Madrid likely to embark on a wild transfer splurge to bolster their squad before their controversial ban, they could be tempted into selling James for a fee in excess of £60million, to fund approaches for other players.
Elsewhere, United’s talented young Brazilian midfielder Andreas Pereira has admitted he may benefit from a loan move away from Old Trafford at some point this season.
The 20-year-old has featured in seven matches for Manchester United this season, but has only been handed one start by Louis van Gaal, which came during the club’s disappointingly short Capital One Cup run.
And now the South American starlet has admitted he would consider a loan move if an opportunity was to present itself.
Andreas Pereira is one of United's brightest prospects
“I want to stay here – of course – but in football you never know,” he said.
“I am happy to wait for my opportunity and to keep working hard, which is what I have been doing.
“And of course you want to play every game. But I have been on the bench recently, so if a loan move was presented, we will see what happens.
And finally, things took a turn for the weird on Friday afternoon when former Italian international Luca Toni accused his former manager – Louis van Gaal – of disliking players from certain countries.
“Louis van Gaal cannot stand players from Latin countries,” the current Hellas Verona striker said in an interview with the Corriere dello Sport.
January transfer window closes in
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“At Bayern he was always looking for the opportunity to complain about me, Franck Ribery and Lucio because the fans loved us.”
His criticisms should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt, though, as Toni and LVG are far from good friends.
And in 2009, Toni declared that their relationship was “as good as over” after going public with his “very large problems” with LVG when the pair were both at Bayern Munich, which resulted in the striker being fined 25,000 euros.
