De Gea to "Renew or Leave" As United Scout Patricio

David de Gea, targeted by Manchester United to replace Edwin van der sar, and current Athletico Madrid number one has been told by his club that he will have two choices at the end of the season: to renew his Athletico contract, or leave for United.

The 20 year-old Spanish goalkeeper had met with Athletico club officials twice now to discuss his future, but no deal has been agreed, and with 3 years left on his deal, the Spanish club are getting agitated. The Madrid Chief Executive Angel Gil Marin said:

"We have met with him to negotiate a new deal on two occasions." 

"He has a contract with Atletico for three more seasons, so it is necessary to renew it and reasonable to revise his salary, which is well below his current performance. 

"But at the end of the season there will be two choices - to renew or to leave."

The Sky Sports journalist and compatriot of De Gea's, Guillem Balague has spoken about the decision being in De Gea's hands, but that the player is still undecided. He sees Manchester United as a great opportunity and a great leap forward of course, but is comfortable in his home country and may yet decide to commit to his boyhood club.

The latest reports are that, if Sir Alex Ferguson fails in his attempts to bring De Gea to Old Trafford, he will move for the Portuguese 23 year-old goalkeeper, Rui Patricio. The Sporting Lisbon goalkeeper is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in Europe, and it has been reported that former Sporting star Luis Nani has recommended the goalkeeper to Ferguson.

The Portuguese press stated that Ferguson sent his goalkeeping coach Eric Steele to Portugal over the week end to watch Patricio in action against FC Porto, and with a number of European clubs watching the player, Steele wasn't alone.

Patricio is not Portugal's number one choice goalkeeper, but he did win his debut against Spain, in the second half of a 4 - 0 win for Portugal on the 17th November 2010. If he joins United this summer, he will be fighting for one of the toughest number 1 spots to fill in Europe, with huge boots to fill when van der sar retires. A goalkeeper is certainly coming to United this summer, but it is up to David de Gea who that goalkeeper is: him, or United's insurance, Patricio.

DBSFootball in association with: http://www.watch-football.tv/football/ - Live Football Streaming.

"Secret Talks" over Man United takeover - Glazers Deny

"Secret talks" were apparently held between a Qatari consortium whom we can safely presume are incredibly rich and the vastly unpopular Glazer family and current owners of Manchester United over a possible takeover. "Great!" Manchester United fans would think, but alas, the Glazers have once again denied that any talks were held, and reiterated that the club is not for sale whilst reportedly waiting for around £2 billion for Manchester United, not the £1.5 billion that has seemingly been tabled.

The following is from The Guardian:

"A Qatari consortium is reported to have offered £1.5bn to buy Manchester United from its current owners, the Glazer brothers, after holding secret talks.

But the club yesterday denied that there has been any approach and reiterated that Manchester United is not for sale.

It is understood, however, that an approach from Qatar Holding – an investment group controlled by the Qatari royal family – took place shortly after the Arab state had secured the right to stage the 2022 World Cup finals.

Discussions are said to have foundered because of the asking price. The Glazers value the club at close to £2bn, which is more than the Qatar group, which recently agreed a record £125m shirt deal with Barcelona, was initially prepared to pay.

The Glazers paid £800m for the club in 2005, the majority of which was provided by loans secured against the club's assets. The borrowings are now believed to stand at around £530m.

Football sources believe Qatar, keen to raise its profile still further in the game, will return with a higher offer."

The Glazer family's reluctance to sell Manchester United, a club in masses of debt has been incredibly frustrating for Red Devils fans, most of whom would welcome a takeover from a ridiculously rich group. This, a group who could inject masses of money into the club for transfers as well as clearing all of the debt. There will be more waiting for a takeover it therefore seems, as the Glazers keep their fingers tightly around one of the most successful football clubs in the world and wait for a bid of at least £2 billion. Will anyone or any group rummage through their pockets for an amount so vast? Lets hope so.