Man Utd: David De Gea's move to Real Madrid off as paperwork late

No official announcement has yet been made by either club.

As part of the deal to sell De Gea to Real, United were planning to bring Keylor Navas in the opposite direction.

There is no precedent for Spanish clubs being given additional time to conclude transfers as there is in England.

Blame for the failure to complete the deal is already being apportioned.

Who says what?

Reports in Spain claim United were responsible for the deal collapsing.

The line is that they did not get their paperwork to Spanish Football Federation headquarters until a minute after the 23:00 BST deadline.

In their defence, United say they have a receipt that proves they submitted the relevant documents in time.

It remains to be seen whether Real will appeal to world governing body Fifa, who are responsible for sanctioning international transfers.

What now for De Gea?

Well, if Real Madrid don't appeal, or they do appeal and fail to push the transfer through, then he'll be back at Old Trafford competing for a place in the United starting line-up.

He'll be up against Sergio Romero, the Argentina number one, and Victor Valdes, who, like De Gea, was linked with other clubs but stayed.

First, though, De Gea, who has not played for United this season, must turn his attentions to international duty with Spain.

They have two Euro 2016 qualifying matches to negotiate, at home to Slovakia on 5 September and in Macedonia on 8 September.

What about United?

They seem pretty relaxed about it all.

If De Gea ends up staying, then they have a world-class keeper to call on. If he goes, then the Navas deal could still happen.

Unlike Real Madrid, United have a few more hours to get stuff done.

The transfer window may be shut in Spain, but it remains open until 18:00 BST on Tuesday for Premier League clubs.

(BBC)