Atletico in the dark over De Gea

Atletico Madrid claim they have not been contacted by Manchester United over a deal to take goalkeeper David de Gea to the English Premier League champions.

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Atletico Madrid claim they have not been contacted by Manchester United over a deal to take goalkeeper David de Gea to the English Premier League champions.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, said on Tuesday that United are closing in on the signing of De Gea, who kept 25 clean sheets in 45 appearances for Atletico this season but who is yet to win his first senior cap for the Spanish national team.

Responding to the news United were closing in on De Gea, Enrique Cerezo, the Atletico president, told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser: "We don't know anything. Officially neither Manchester [United] or the player at this moment have informed us of anything.

"He [De Gea] knows very well that he can negotiate [with other clubs] but always that they have to pay his buy-out clause."

Atletico, who finished this season in seventh spot in the Primera Liga, had been keen to tie De Gea down to a new contract with his current one running until 2013.

Recently, Madrid-born De Gea, whose contract buy-out clause is reportedly in the region of €25 million (Dh129.2million), said he would make a decision about his future by the end of June.

Ferguson has identified the 20-year-old keeper as his preferred successor to Edwin van der Sar, who will hang up his gloves after the Champions League final against Barcelona on Saturday.

"We've been working on it [De Gea transfer] for quite a while. We identified him quite a while back as one we should go for," Ferguson told the club's website after Gary Neville's testimonial on Tuesday. "He's a young goalkeeper, very quick, good composure, presence and an outstanding replacement for Van der Sar.

"We were looking for the same type of qualities as Edwin [has], because the one great quality Edwin always had was his composure and organisational ability.

"With David De Gea, he is very similar that way."