Simeone confident Saul will stay at Atleti

Saul Niguez’s stock may have risen further after his stunning solo goal to give Atletico Madrid victory over Bayern Munich in midweek, but Diego Simeone is confident of keeping him at Vicente Calderon.

The 21-year-old has enjoyed a productive season, scoring nine times in all competitions as they challenge for La Liga and Champions League glory.

Such has been his impact under Simeone that Saul – on target on Wednesday as Bayern were beaten 1-0 in their Champions League semi-final first leg – has been linked with a move away, with Manchester United said to extremely interested in the youngster.

However, Simeone believes the youth product will continue to prosper in Spain with Atleti.

“We are in a situation with young players, very young, with a great present and an even better future, all based on their day to day work,” Simeone told a news conference.

“Saul has a very good present and the best thing for him is to stay away from all the talk about him. I am not afraid he will move to another team.”

Atletico, level on points with leaders Barca, face Madrid neighbours Rayo Vallecano in the league this weekend with Simeone set to rotate his squad, but defender Diego Godin is unlikely to feature as he continues to struggle with a hamstring injury.

He added: “I will choose the players who can bring me solutions for this game.

“I am not thinking about [Godin] now. I am thinking about [Stefan] Savic, Lucas [Hernandez] and [Jose] Gimenez.

“If he [Godin] is better we will be happy, but if not we will keep going with the three lads who are doing great work for us.”