Real Madrid president backs Keylor Navas after fresh links with David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has claimed that Los Blancos are "delighted" with Keylor Navas despite renewed reports linking them with a summer move for Manchester United number one David de Gea or Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois. Meanwhile, the club chief has told Barcelona to forget about their intentions to play the Copa del Rey final at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos opted against signing any keeper during the summer transfer window after Navas excelled between the sticks last season, putting behind him the big saga of the summer of 2015 when he was on the verge to join United as part of the deal which was expected to see de Gea making the opposite move to the La Liga giants.

But the Costa Rica international has failed to replicate that form since he underwent an Achilles tendon operation during the summer.

Reports in Spain have thus claimed that Real Madrid have earmarked the signing of a new number one as a priority for the coming market, with de Gea and Chelsea ace Courtois being cited as the two preferred options at the Bernabeu.

The United keeper himself failed to diminish those reports this week when he admitted that "nobody knows the future".

Yet, Marca assured in its Thursday front cover that Real Madrid have eventually already made some contacts to sign the United keeper, with the Chelsea number one preferred as the backup option.

But Florentino Perez has now played down those reports, saying that Real Madrid are eventually yet to decide their transfer targets for the 2016-2017 campaign.

"Everyone is delighted with Keylor Navas," the Real Madrid president said as quoted by AS when asked about the possibility of signing the United or the Chelsea keepers. "We will not work in new signings until the end of the season. We are not going to deny everything that comes out about signings."

Meanwhile, Perez also has made it clear that the Santiago Bernabeu will not host the Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Alaves because there will be work taking place in their stadium on 27 May.

The venue of the finals in Spain is not decided until knowing the contenders, as they don't have any national stadium like Wembley.

This way at this time of the year there is always a big debate in Spain on which stadium should take the Copa del Rey final.

Barcelona have reached the final in the last four seasons, and they have repeatedly expressed their will to play at the Bernabeu as it is one of the biggest Spanish stadium and is in a central location.

Real Madrid, however, have refused to grant their archenemies the possibility of celebrating a triumph in their own home.

The debate has been reopened this week after Barcelona and Alaves booked a place in the final after beating respectively Atletico Madrid and Celta Vigo in the semifinals.

But asked about the possibility of hosting the final, Perez said: "There will be no chance of playing the Copa final between Barcelona and Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu because there are works going on. There is no other issue."