Ajax Reject Reports Of Huntelaar Deal

Ajax have vehemently denied that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is on the verge of a move to Real Madrid and that they want the player to stay with them until the summer, although a deal could still be possible.

The Dutch club's president Uri Coronel and coach Marco van Basten have both made statements to the press in the Netherlands dismissing reports in Spain that a deal has been done.

Marca and AS both reported that an announcement would be made before Wednesday that Madrid had landed Huntelaar as the first of the two strikers club supremo Ramón Calderón has promised.

"It is nonsense," Coronal told AD. "There is no deal and we are not about to close any deal."

Despite denying that there has been an agreement, the Ajax chief did not exclude the possibility that something could happen, but stated that only his club would decide if and when.

"It is nonsense now, but that does not mean that a transfer could not happen. Let me make one thing lear however, Ajax are in control of this not Real Madrid or the media."

Van Basten was also keen to deny that there was any news, but he recognised that the player could well leave in the summer as his contract would expire a year later.

"There have been no negotiations today over Huntelaar," he said to AD. "There really is nothing to report.

"If it was up to me then Huntelaar would stay with Ajax for the rest of the season. That is also exactly what we said last summer when there was lots of speculation about him going.

"I still feel like that, although I know that everyone has their price. In the summer Huntelaar will have one year left on his contract.

"But we are talking about the winter market and I think that he will stay with Ajax."

Marca announced in the summer that Madrid had sealed a deal for Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United before any official announcment which upset the Premier League club, but Ajax appear to be taking the news from Spain more calmly.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com