Familiar background figure key as Man Utd boosted in hunt for LaLiga star
An impasse in contract negotiations between Saul Niguez and Atletico Madrid has led to Manchester United and Manchester City registering interest in the midfielder, according to reports.
Niguez, who has had a 12-year association with Atletico to date, has become a crucial figure in Diego Simeone’s side over the past few seasons.
Indeed, the 25-year-old’s stock has risen after the departure of Juanfran and Diego Godin and he is now Simeone’s trusty deputy at left-back.
Niguez signed a mammoth new contract until 2026 with Atletico in 2017, a deal that Mundo Deportivo claims contains a €150million (£138million) release clause.
The Spanish newspaper says that after the departure of Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona last summer, Atletico have room to manoeuvre and believe Niguez is the most deserving of a lucrative new deal.
However, the LaLiga giants have reportedly been trying unsuccessfully to thrash out a lucrative extension with Niguez to reflect his growing importance in the team.
Negotiations, which started last summer, have stalled due to club and player being far apart on the monies being offered and there looks to be no end in sight to the deadlock.
As such, United and City are believed to have registered interest, with both clubs of the opinion that Saul is more than affordable after Paris Saint-Germain’s world-record signing of Neymar.
Indeed, it is said that a move to the Premier League may not be out of sight given that Niguez recently changed agent and is now represented by the Stellar Group.
The Stellar Group is headed up by Jonathan Barnett, Gareth Bale‘s agent, and the deal broker “knows the Premier League perfectly” and would be accustomed to finding his latest client a move to the English top flight.
Niguez has chipped in with four goals in all competitions this season, his latest coming in the first leg of Atletico’s defeat of Liverpool which saw them progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
In other news, United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is said to be obsessed about the thought of bringing Jude Bellingham to Old Trafford this summer.
Bellingham, 16, was reportedly invited to United’s Carrington training complex earlier this month as speculation over his future with Birmingham mounts.