Atletico Madrid star signs nine year contract with club

Atletico Madrid's highly rated young midfielder Saul Niguez has committed his future to the club by extending his current contract to last until 2026. Manchester United have been monitoring Saul for some time now, but this development ends their pursuit of him. 

A product of the Atletico Madrid youth academy, Saul has continually impressed for the La Liga club and hit great form during this summer's under-21 European Championships, where he finished as top scorer with five goals on Spain's journey to the final. 

The central midfielder was already under a long term deal with Atletico, but this five year extension will see him tied to the club well into the next decade. 

Manchester United have been linked with a move for the young Spaniard for the last couple of seasons, but it now looks highly unlikely that a deal will be done anytime soon, with an extortionate release clause assured. 

Atletico are currently operating under a transfer ban, which sees them unable to register new players until January. Whilst they will be unable to strengthen their squad over the summer, it may actually have helped them to keep hold of some of their biggest players. 

Antoine Griezmann was strongly linked with a move away from the Madrid club at the end of last season, but his strong connection with the club lead him to stay as it would be "unfair" for him to leave with no chance of a replacement being signed.