Manchester United target: Valencia 'will demand full €50m release clause' to sell Nicolas Otamendi

Valencia officials have told any club interested in centre-back Nicolas Otamendi they will need to pay his €50m (£38 , $55m) release clause because the Spanish club are not willing to negotiate his departure at any price even if the player wants to leave, reports in Spain claim.

The 27-year-old Argentina international defender has been linked with a move to Manchester United since the David Moyes era, when he was still playing at Porto.

Reports in Spain assure that Louis van Gaal increased United's interest in the Argentinian during the last transfer window and even launched a €35m (£25.6m, $38m) bid to secure his services, which was immediately rejected by the La Liga side.

But recent reports in Spain claimed that the Premier League giants have not given up in their intention to sign Otamendi as one United's scouts, Carlos Ruiz, was "spying" him at the Martinez Valero stadium on Friday, 20 March during their impressive 4-0 victory over Elche, with the centre-back scoring his third goal of the campaign.

Valencia officials don't want those rumours affecting the player during the last part of the campaign – they are third in La Liga – and, according to Spanish newspaper AS, have now come out to insist that they are not interested in negotiating Otamendi's departure and will make every effort to keep him in their ranks.

Valencia admitted to having snubbed a €35m bid from an unnamed Premier League club - said to be United - during the January transfer window but now claim they are yet to receive a new offer while insisting that any potential suitor will need to meet his full €50m.

Valencia-based newspaper Estadio Deportivo insists on the same, while claiming that should United want him, they will need to increase their €35m bid to match his full release-clause even if the player is likely to move away.

AS points out that Valencia already followed the same pattern when Roberto Soldado moved to Tottenham for his €30m release clause or last summer with Jeremy Mathieu, who joined Barcelona for his €20m buy-out-clause despite the centre-back desperately urging the club to let him go for a cut-price deal.