Manchester United star David De Gea 'remains Real Madrid's No.1 target' ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga

The transfer saga surrounding David De Gea and Real Madrid could be set for a new twist with reports in Spain claiming that Los Blancos will make a new attempt to sign the Manchester United goalkeeper in the summer.

Cadena Ser show El Larguero claims that De Gea remains Real's top priority to bolster the position ahead of the 2018-2019 season despite recurring reports linking them with Athletic Bilbao's Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Real were on the verge of signing the United number one in the summer of 2015 in a deal that would have seen Keylor Navas move in the opposite direction to Old Trafford as a makeweight.

But both transfers collapsed on deadline day after paperwork failed to arrive at La Liga headquarters on time.

The Champions League and La Liga winners were tipped to make a new move to sign the United keeper during the last summer transfer window.

In July, Jose Mourinho suggested that United were open to negotiating De Gea's departure to Real but Los Blancos decided against the signing.

"I can guarantee that he [De Gea] is not going this season," Mourinho then said. "My feeling is it will very difficult for him to go. He is a very honest, straight boy. He was contacted [by Real Madrid] for a long time, the club was closed and then we opened.

"I always have this feeling when a player has a desire to go, then I don't like to stop players because you don't get from them what you expect from them if they want to move and they don't. So we opened it and then they decided to close it. I see him really happy, focused, working better than ever and 100 per cent he stays with us."

Cadena Ser claims that the move only fell through because manager Zinedine Zidane decided to stick with Navas after the Costa Rica international enjoyed an impressive season during the 2016-17 campaign, helping Real win the Spanish title and a 12th European Cup.

However, the Spanish radio station understand that Real president Florentino Perez still wants De Gea and will make a new effort to lure him to the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer.

Navas will turn 31 next month and Athletic Club's Kepa has emerged as another alternative to replace him at Real in recent weeks. Kepa is yet to sign a new deal at San Mames despite his current contract being set to expire in the summer.

Recent reports have claimed that Kepa wants Athletic to include an affordable release clause in his new contract in order to facilitate a move away to a bigger club in the future.

But Cadena Ser claims that Real president Perez feels the club would be better off paying "around €70m (£62.2m, $82.5m) to sign De Gea than around €40m or €50m for a younger option with less experience".

Furthermore, this time Real will be in a better position to negotiate with United as De Gea's current contract at Old Trafford will expire in 2019, meaning that this summer will be the Red Devils' last chance to get a profit for his sale.