Atletico Madrid have reportedly resumed talks with Saul Niguez over a new contract in a bid to ward off interest from Manchester United.
United have been linked with the 24-year-old as a possible replacement for Paul Pogba should the Frenchman complete his mega-money move to Real Madrid this summer.
The Red Devils are reportedly willing to pay Saul's €150m (£134.7m) release clause in full with the money they would earn from Pogba's exit, but AS claims that Atletico have moved to prevent that by opening contract talks once again.
The La Liga runners-up are understood to have been in contact with Saul regarding a new deal since April, but negotiations had reached an impasse until earlier this week.
Atletico are desperate not to lose another key player after already seeing Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godin and Lucas Hernandez leave the club this summer.
Any new deal would likely see Diego Simeone's side take advantage of the €20m (£18m) salary freed up by Griezmann's exit to make Saul the highest-paid player at the Wanda Metropolitano, surpassing the €10m (£9m) currently earned by Jan Oblak.
Saul would also see his release clause increased and his contract, which already runs until 2026, extended even further.
Barney Corkhill
