Atletico Madrid have made it clear that Manchester United or any other club must trigger the £103 million release clause in Marcos Llorente’s contract to sign him this summer, Marca reports.
Llorente is currently in his second season with the Spanish giants and has been in fine form with 10 goals and nine assists from 36 appearances across all competitions.
It was recently reported that the Red Devils had tabled a £68.5m offer for the midfielder, which had made Atletico contemplate over a possible summer sale.
However, this has been dismissed by Marca, who also claim that the La Liga leaders have no plans of selling him for anything less than his £103m buy-out clause.
Thomas Partey, Lucas Hernandez, Rodri Hernandez and Antoine Griezmann were all sold only after their release clauses were paid, and the same will be the case for Llorente.
Sportslens view:
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may need a new option in the centre of the park, particularly if Paul Pogba heads through the exit door.
Pogba’s current deal expires in 15 months, and United are likely to sanction his sale if an extension is not sorted by the summer.
Llorente would be an ideal fit, having transformed from a defensive midfielder into a quality playmaker during his time with Atletico.
While he has been a creative force this term, the Spaniard also has strong tacking abilities and may adapt to the Premier League without much difficulty.
Despite this, the Red Devils may not want to break the bank for the 26-year-old, given their main priority may be pursuing an elite striker.
On that basis, a deal appears unlikely to happen, and they may have to look elsewhere for a box-to-box midfielder if Pogba pursues a fresh challenge.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
Read: This Spanish defender would be interested in joining Manchester United this summer.
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