Manchester United place new €60m bid for Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos

Manchester United have made a new bid in signing Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Louis van Gaal is keen on securing the services of the centre-back, who has two years left on his contract with his current employers. The defender also wants to leave Real in the ongoing transfer window and is currently with the squad for the pre-season tour of Australia and China.

United have placed the latest offer of €60m (£42m, $65.6m) for Ramos and once Real accept their offer for their star player, the English outfit will allow David de Gea to join the La Liga giants.

The Spanish capital club allowed veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas leave the club earlier in July. He completed his switch to FC Porto and Real replaced him by signing Kiko Casilla from Espanyol.

Casilla and Keylor Navas are the two first choice keepers in the squad. El Pais claims Real had a crisis meeting and the participants were concerned with the options available in the goalkeeping position.

A section of Real fans are unhappy with the club president Florentino Perez's decision to let Casillas leave and have already asked for his resignation. The pressure is mounting on Perez to bring De Gea this summer.

Real have long been linked with a move in signing the United star. The Spain international has one year left on his contract at Old Trafford and has already rejected a chance to sign a new deal.

The 10-time European champions have an agreement with De Gea that they will bring him to Santiago Bernabeu. Failure to sign him before 20 August will see them pay €10m (£7m, $10.9m) to the player.

Ramos is aware that his reputation is irreparable if he continues with his current employers beyond the summer transfer window. Ramos wants to leave Real and join United, while De Gea is keen on returning to Madrid.

The Premier League side are willing to do business if Real let Ramos join them and the centre-back's desire to leave the club has only helped United in their bid to sign him.

The majority of the participants involved in the crisis meeting have urged Perez to accept a swap deal. With the latest offer from United for Ramos, they are likely to get the World Cup winning defender, which will see De Gea move in the opposite direction.