Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid may have to delay making a move for Scottish starlet Ryan Gauld, after the forward extended his contract at Dundee United by a further year.

The highly-rated attacker marked his 18th birthday by signing a new deal with the Scottish Premiership outfit - keeping him at the club until May 2017.

Being described as the "finest young prospect in Scotland, maybe even Europe" by the national newspaper Scotland on Sunday, Gauld made his Dundee first-team debut at 16 years of age, but is yet to make his full international debut under Scotland boss Gordon Strachan.

The player Dundee fans have dubbed 'Mini Messi' has been linked with potential moves to some of the biggest clubs in the world.

And while Gauld consistently states he wants to develop his talent at Tannadice, the youngster has admitted in the past that he has ambitions to play abroad, with Spain his preferred destination.

The 18-year-old scored his sixth goal of the season in the Terrors' 4-1 win over Kilmarnock on Saturday, and manager Jackie McNamara said Gauld's latest contract extension shows the club's desire to build something "special".

The Dundee boss said: "Ryan is showing his commitment to the club by signing this contract. We are trying to build something special here and securing Ryan on a longer deal signals our desire to achieve this.

"He is a fantastic talent who appreciates that Dundee United is the best place for him to develop at this time.

"Dundee United fans will quite rightly be delighted at this news and how the club is moving forward just now."

Source: talkSPORT