Transfer windows are a haven for the humble fax machine, and the otherwise superannuated device had its finest moment a couple of years ago, when Real Madrid failed to submit the paperwork in a fashion timely enough to sign David De Gea from Manchester United.
It had looked pretty nailed on that De Gea would be off to Madrid, but that hasn't materialised, and the Spaniard has stayed at Old Trafford to pick up three consecutive Player of the Year awards with the club. There were rumours once again this summer that De Gea might finally make the move to the Bernabeu, given the travails of Keylor Navas, but Jose Mourinho has guaranteed United fans that De Gea would not be leaving.
Speaking to Kieran Canning of The Independent, Mourinho says that De Gea won't be leaving, because Madrid have not expressed an interest in signing him. He did add, however, that United were open to the idea of selling him:
He was contacted for a long time, the club was closed, then we open because I always have this feeling of when a player has a desire to go I don't like to stop players to go because in the end you don't get from them what you expect from them if they want to move and they don't move.
So we open it and then they decide to close, and I don't think the feeling for him is very good.
I see him really happy and focused and working better than ever, so for me 100 per cent he stays with us.
United meet Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly, before squaring off again in the slightly more serious business of the UEFA Super Cup on August 8th in Skopje.
