No David De Gea for Rafael Benitez

Rafael Benitez is currently in Australia with Real Madrid for pre-season

Manchester United have been boosted after Rafa Benitez declared he is happy with his goalkeeping options.

It was reported that United had accepted that they would lose the 24-year-old either this or next summer, but United remain adamant that De Gea won’t be sold this summer unless Sergio Ramos is part of the deal.

But with Real Madrid already having Keylor Navas and raiding Espanyol for Kiko Casilla yesterday, Rafa Benitez has claimed that he is happy with his goalkeeping situation.

Speaking in Australia following Real’s loss to Roma, the former Liverpool manager said:

“With Casilla’s arrival we have more competition and we are happy. The keepers that we have are sufficient and have enough quality.”

Benitez’s words may be empty as it is well known that Real want De Gea and it could just be posturing from the La Liga club in case they are unable to prise him away from Old Trafford.

But if it is a sign of defeat from the Madrid club, United will count this as a significant victory having resisted Florentino Perez’s attempts to snatch away another star.

United have done business with Real before, usually coming off the worse from the deals, but making De Gea remain at Old Trafford and see out his contract will mark a significant moment in dealings between the two sides.