Manchester United Transfer News: Jan Oblak Bid Revealed, Victor Valdes Latest

Manchester United made a £26 million move to sign Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the summer, as the club prepared for life without David De Gea before his transfer to Real Madrid collapsed. 

Spanish newspaper SPORT (h/t SportWitness.com) claimed the Red Devils were "knocked back" by the Calderon club in their pursuit of Oblak late in the summer transfer window. United were negotiating to take Keylor Navas as part of the DDG deal, but the link with Oblak is no surprise, with the player rated one of the best young stoppers in Europe. 

The Slovenian served his apprenticeship at Benfica, featuring on loan in the Portuguese league for other teams, and arrived in the Spanish capital to replace Thibaut Courtois, who returned to parent club Chelsea.

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Oblak's £12.8 million capture was the highest paid transfer fee for a goalkeeper in Spanish football history, as reported by Adam Bate of Sky Sports. 

United were clearly worried about their options if they lost De Gea to Los Blancos, and the reported bid would have been a significant mark up for Atletico. 

Old Trafford boss Louis van Gaal's interest in the player has led the Colchoneros to offer the goalkeeper a new deal with a sizeable buy-out clause, in an attempt to ward off any suitors who have designs on his services, per SPORT. 

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Oblak has started the La Liga campaign in great form, achieving four clean sheets from the opening seven games, according to Squawka.com.

Despite his team's standing in Spain, Oblak would have been dearly tempted to succeed De Gea at United, and he will surely have one eye on developments should the Galacticos come calling for DDG once more. 

Agent Says Valdes Will Leave 

Victor Valdes' agent has admitted his client will be departing Old Trafford in January, but he would not speculate if the goalkeeper has a club lined up. 

Gines Carvajal told Radio Marca (h/t Sky Sports) the 33-year-old Spain international could have joined Valencia in the summer, but he chose to stay in England: "He won't be coming to Spain, unless he decides otherwise. It is obvious he must leave in January, and we are looking to find a move that he likes. He had the option of coming to Valencia in the summer and did not want to."

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Ed Malyon of the Mirror reported Newcastle United are lining up the former World Cup winner to deputise for the injured Tim Krul, who is out for the rest of the season. 

Oblak would have been a perfect fit for United, slipping into the Red Devils' tradition of developing young talent.

But the player would need time to adapt to English football if he ever makes the jump to the Premier League, with De Gea himself finding life uncomfortable for the opening 18 months of his tenure. 

However, United fans will be happy the club managed to retain the services of arguably the best goalkeeper in the world for the next year, even if it does mean another summer of heartbreak and paranoia if Madrid and DDG start to flirt with each other once again.