Atletico’s Koke turns down United and signs a new deal in the Spanish capital.
Things just aren’t going well for Manchester United at the moment and the English champions have been dealt another blow as transfer target Koke signs a new deal with Atletico Madrid, reports the Daily Express.
Despite the fact the attacking midfielder was made aware of the Red Devils’ interested, the 22-year-old decided to extend his stay at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Koke has committed the starlet’s future to Atletico until 2018 and the Spain international’s release clause has more than doubled from £20m to £50m.
It means that United are going to have to look elsewhere for creative recruitment as yet another midfielder snubs the Premier League holders.
In the summer Thiago Alcantara chose Bayern Munich over the club and both Ander Herrera of Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas preferred to stay where they were after bids from the English team.
As a result new manager David Moyes had to settle for the £27.5m acquisition of Marouane Fellaini from previous side Everton and the Belgian has been far from impressive since the move.
Moyes had therefore pinpointed Koke as the ideal purchase and was even spotted in the Spanish capital watching the youngster.
Atleti have been brilliant in La Liga this term and are level on points with both Barca and city rivals Real Madrid at the top of the table.
Koke has played a big part in that success and has made 29 appearances in all competitions and scored four goals and provided 10 assists.
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