David De Gea 'happy' at Manchester United but coy on renewed Real Madrid links

Manchester United number one David De Gea admits that the future is always uncertain but refused to confirm renewed reports linking him with a summer move to Real Madrid. The Spain international said he was "happy" at Old Trafford and focused on trying to help his side end the season in the Premier League's top-four.

De Gea, 26, had been on the verge of joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2015 in a deal expected to see Keylor Navas make the move in the opposite direction to Old Trafford as a makeweight.

However, both transfers collapsed on deadline day after paperwork failed to arrive at La Liga headquarters on time. The Spaniard, only days later, appeared to end all the speculation after committing his long-term future to United by putting pen to paper on a new four-year deal until 2019.

But rumours linking both De Gea and Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois with Real Madrid have re-emerged after Keylor Navas' inconsistent displays in the first part of the 2016-2017 campaign.

Marca reported on its Thursday (9 February) front cover that the United keeper had eventually emerged as Real Madrid's top target ahead of the coming summer transfer window - with the Chelsea number one preferred as the backup option.

Zinedine Zidane recently expressed his satisfaction with Navas but Marca adds that Real Madrid officials still want to sign a high profile keeper, and understand that De Gea has a €65m (£55.3m, $69.6m) release clause in his contract at United.

But pressed about the Real Madrid rumours, De Gea said to AS: " I will not talk about that. I will not talk (about Real Madrid) any more. Now I must stay focused with my club."

And questioned about his vision of the future at Manchester United, he added: "Nobody knows the future. The future is the future. I'm very happy here, it's a great club. In England football is much enjoyed. We are already in the final of the League Cup and we are still fighting for the FA Cup and the Europa League. That too is also a good way to get titles and keep making history with the club."

Elsewhere, De Gea urged his teammates to end the campaign on a high, but admitted that catching Chelsea in the Premier League title race was almost impossible.

"The truth is that they're doing really well. I think they're nine points ahead of second place and they have the title in their hands. We are all going to fight to get as close as possible but they are very well placed," De Gea added.

"I think we're in good form. We're on a 15-match unbeaten run in the league and we've won the last two matches [in the FA Cup against Wigan and the Premier League versus Leicester]. The team's doing well, we must continue down this route to get into the top four as soon as possible."

The United stopper however urged fans to be patient, saying that United needed time to regain its prime spot following summer's extensive overhaul.

"That's football. In the end, all clubs spend money. There are things that go well and others that do not," he said. "The team needs time to adapt because new players have arrived. I think now we're much better, but we have to give this team time to win the Premier League again," the United keeper added.