Jose Luis Gaya has turned down the offer of a contract renewal with Valencia in light of alleged interest from Real Madrid.
The 19-year-old left-back received a proposal from Los Che in mid-February to extend his current agreement until 2021 and increase his release clause from €18m to €40m.
However, according to reports in Spain it was flatly rejected by his representatives despite his annual salary being raised from €250,000 to €1.5m.
Sources claim the main sticking point is now the release clause fee, which the player does not want to exceed €30m, while others contest it is because his agents are aware of Madrid’s interest and are buying time as they await further developments.
Valencia maintained some weeks ago that Gaya’s contract renewal would not be a problem but the deadline set by President Amadeo Salve expires on the last day of March, while Gaya is yet to sit down with the Valencia hierarchy and thrash out a new agreement.
Gaya has appeared in 29 games for Valencia in all competitions this season, scoring twice.