Manchester United have seen their hopes of signing Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa hit the buffers with the Portuguese tied down to a new five-year contract with his current club.
The Red Devils were reported to be interested in a move for the 23-year-old come the end of this season with doubts over the future of current number one David De Gea. They had conducted numerous scouting missions to assess his abilities, whilst current United defender Diogo Dalot had previously given his approval to a swoop.
Taking to Twitter after Costa had made history by saving his third consecutive Champions League penalty last week, Dalot wrote: "@DiogoMCosta99 unreal bro." His post was accompanied by a handshake, applause and a red heart emoji.
There was only one problem behind a potential deal though and that was super agent Jorge Mendes ’ attempts to get Costa to pen a new deal with Porto. Previous reports had suggested that he was already in talks with the two parties regarding an extended contract - with an increase to the goalkeeper’s €60million (£51m) release clause expected to be negotiated.
Those discussions appear to have gone well with the confirmation that the stopper has penned a new deal. Costa is now expected to stay at the Estadio do Dragao until 2027, with that aforementioned release clause reportedly jumping to €75m (£65m).
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Speaking after putting pen to paper, he said: “I want to thank the president for this moment. The feeling is the same as last year. This is my home and I'm another one helping FC Porto to have as many titles as possible. I will always work, I will never change the way I am.
"It is a huge honour for me to renew my contract with the club of my heart. I'm with the club looking for goals. That's why we work individually and collectively. What is there [the gloves with which he saved four penalties in the group stage of the Champions League] is the merit of the staff and the entire team.
“The collective, for me, is the most important. This profession demands responsibility, even more being in a club like this. It's a part of life and I'll be here to deal with it naturally.”
It now remains to be seen whether United remain interested in Costa or pursue alternatives. They could be in dire need for a new goalkeeper heading into next season with De Gea out of contract and loanee Martin Dubravka seeing his temporary deal expire.
They were linked with a swoop for number of stoppers in the most recent summer window including Borussia Monchengladbach star Yann Sommer, Eintracht Frankfurt man Kevin Trapp and also Watford 's Daniel Bachmann.
