Manchester United Transfer News: Fresh Renato Sanches Rumours, David De Gea Snub

Manchester United are reportedly eyeing a move for Benfica prodigy Renato Sanches, having been impressed by the midfielder on numerous scouting trips.

According to the MailOnline's Simon Jones, United scouts were once again on hand to watch the 18-year-old play against Estoril on Saturday as Benfica won 2-1.

United are reportedly the front-runners to sign Sanches ahead of Newcastle United, Swansea City and Aston Villa as manager Louis van Gaal is very interested in the youngster, but he has a release clause of £58.8 million and is contracted until 2020, per James Walters in the Daily Star.

Such an inflated fee will surely be a sticking point for United, especially as Sanches is so young. However, he has shown immense potential so far this season, per Portuguese football writer Jan Hagen:

He has netted twice in the Primeira Liga in 11 appearances this season and made two starts during Benfica's successful group campaign in the Champions League—they have drawn Zenit Saint Petersburg in the last 16—per WhoScored.com. 

The Red Devils have spent big on youngsters including Anthony Martial and Memphis Depay in recent times, but even they may be loath to shell out nearly £60 million for a largely unproven 18-year-old.

However, if United can negotiate a more reasonable price, he could be a fine addition as he is able to play both in the centre of midfield and out wide.

Alongside the likes of Martial and Depay—as well as Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard—he could join an ever-growing core of talented youngsters at Old Trafford, a factor that bodes well for United's future.

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Another potential boost to the Red Devils' future prospects is goalkeeper David de Gea's reported snub of Real Madrid.

According to Jeremy Cross in the Daily Star, the Spaniard has made it clear he will not join Real in the current transfer window, with Los Blancos eager to sign him this month as they prepare for their imminent transfer ban.

Per Bleacher Report's Dean Jones and Sam Tighe, Real's sanction, which will prevent them from registering players for two windows from the summer, was always likely to scupper the De Gea deal in the short term:

And while Real president Florentino Perez was prepared to meet the Spaniard's £45 million release clause to sign him this month, De Gea has revealed he is going nowhere, per Cross.

Martin Lipton in the Sun, though, reported that Leicester City's Kasper Schmeichel is being considered as a potential replacement for De Gea as Los Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane is looking to sign the 25-year-old "in the next fortnight."

De Gea nearly joined Real back in the summer before the move collapsed on the final day of the transfer window.

He will likely move to Madrid in the future, but Real's transfer ban looks to be a huge boon for United, as they should be able to keep hold of him for another year-and-a-half at least.

Real will undoubtedly be eager to sign him in the current transfer window, but as he is now contracted to United until 2019, it looks a very tricky move for them to pull off.