Keane move has not been discussed, insists Real's president

Roy Keane's next move remains unclear with the Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, insisting that his club have not discussed signing the former Manchester United captain.

The Spanish team appeared to be prime candidates to bring in Keane with their communications chief, Antonio Garcia Ferreras, having stated on Monday that the former Republic of Ireland midfielder was "on a list of possible signings" in the January transfer window. However, Perez, the architect of the club's galactico signing policy, was adamant the club would not look into new purchases until after the final two La Liga fixtures of the year.

Real host Osasuna this weekend before playing Racing Santander at the Bernabeu the following Wednesday. "Nobody has spoken about it yet [signing Keane] and we won't speak about it until these next two games are over," Perez said. "The press are in their right to speak about it but if we signed all the players they talk about we would have 60 players in the squad."

Perez also denied that the board had spoken with their midfielder David Beckham about his former Manchester United team-mate.

Should Real sign Keane it has been suggested that the Denmark midfielder Thomas Gravesen would be surplus to requirements. However, Perez insisted that the Dane would be staying. "We don't have a big enough squad to allow him to leave."

Perez added that it would not be easy to find a coach capable of creating a team from the talented individuals in his squad. The latest incumbent is the former reserve team coach, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, who took charge on a caretaker basis last week following the sacking of the Brazilian Wanderley Luxemburgo

"The club have developed a system in which we have made talent our priority and there aren't many coaches around who are capable of administrating that ," Perez said. "Real Madrid has to have a team that not only wins, but also provides spectacle and entertainment."

Luxemburgo will return to Santos, the Brazilian club he left 11 months ago. Luiz Lombardi, Luxemburgo's spokesman, said that the coach had negotiated a two-year deal with the team he led to the Brazilian championship last year.