Man United set to miss out on Koke

Just as things looked as though, they were getting better for David Moyes and Manchester United, they have been deal another blow as Marca claim that Koke has signed a new deal with Atletico Madrid, that will keep him at the Vicente Calderon until 2018.

The news is sure to come as a blow for Moyes, who was recently in Spain, watching the 22-year-old Spanish international in action. Koke was identified by Moyes as one of the main targets for United in January, after the failure to sign any creative midfielders in the summer.

Koke has been one of the stars of the season so far for Atletico, and whilst Diego Costa has been grabbing all the plaudits for his goal scoring return, it has been Koke, who was supplying the ammunition for the forward. With the new deal, it looks like, he will be continuing to do that, for the foreseeable future.

Although Koke was never eager to move away from Atletico, and always maintained that he was happy at the club, the fact that United were reportedly willing to pay Koke’s €24m release clause meant that there was a possibility that he might leave Madrid, for Manchester. But United’s interest in the player, merely forced Atletico’s hands as they started to renegotiate a new deal, that will not only keep him at the club until 2018, but also increased his buyout clause from €24m to €60m, which is more than Diego Costa’s buyout clause of €38m.

All of which show just how highly the club value their homegrown player and want him to stay at the club for many years to come. The new deal means that Moyes has to, once again look elsewhere if he is to add some creativity into this United squad, that looks in dire need of some rejuvenation.