Ghana's Sulley Muntari will be staying with Italian club Udinese

Italian club Udinese has dismissed rumours linking their Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari with a move to English side Manchester United.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has followed the Ghana midfielder's progress since his fine performances in the 2001 African Under-20 Championships.

But Udinese general director Pietro Leonardi said on Wednesday that their player is going nowhere.

"I firmly deny these rumours," said Leonardi. "We have already confirmed he is in the squad," he added.

The 21-year-old has been a regular in the side since arriving at Udinese in 2002.