Barcelona have the option of first refusal on Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez, something which will come as a blow to Manchester United, who have been regularly linked with the Spaniard.
The spotlight turned towards the young midfielder last night after he scored a sumptuous solo effort against Bayern Munich in the first leg of his side’s Champions League semi-final tie at the Vicente Calderon.
Manchester United were linked with a move for the midfielder in January, but even if they rekindle their interest in the summer, they would have to go into battle with Catalan giants Barcelona.
According to Catalan daily Sport, the Blaugrana secured first refusal option on the 21-year-old midfielder and Javier Manquillo, who is on loan at Marseille, when they sold David Villa to Atletico Madrid in 2013.
Therefore, if Atletico Madrid receive an offer for Niguez, they would have to inform Barcelona, who would have the option of matching the bid for the midfielder to take him to the Nou Camp.
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The midfielder has amassed 44 appearances for Los Colchoneros this season and is also a regular for the Spain Under-21s.
Niguez has a contract until 2020 with the club, but it has a release clause of €45m.
