Manchester United News – Kevin Strootman Finally Set To Be Sold
There seems to be a growing speculation that Spanish giants, Real Madrid are considering a bid to bring in Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman from Roma. According to the reports, Roma are finally considering selling the player after turning down several offers for him. The Dutch midfield enforcer has been sidelined since March this year but this has not discouraged potential suitors from bidding for his services. Real Madrid sold Xabi Alanson to Bayern Munich in the last transfer window, leaving the Bernabeu club with SamiKhedira,Illaramendi, Toni Kroos, and Luca Modric as the remaining options. Most of the matches this season have seen Real Madrid playing Toni Kroos and Luca Modric in the middle of the pack at the expense of the highly-rated Spaniard, Illaramendi. And the results have always shown that the pairing does not seem balanced. luca Modric is not a holding midfielder, neither is Toni Kroos.German midfielder,SamiKhedira should have been a regular starter but there are rumours of his impending departure in January.
This has made the club’s manager to rely more on Kroosand Modric. But Ancelotti’s persistent use of the two players have seen Real Madrid lose two games in six LA Liga matches this season, leaving them five points adrift of their arch rivals, Barcelona. Perhaps, the saving grace for Real Madrid this season has been the consistent formof Ronaldo who has been banging in goals like no man’s business. The Portuguese continues to live up to the billing as the world’s top player, scoring three hatricks in four games for the La Liga giants. Anybody with a sound knowledge of football will so easily see the defect of a Kroos-Modric pairing, which makes a January bid for a holding midfielder all the more likely. Strootman has been rated highly since his move from PSV to Roma last season which cost the Italian outfit a whooping €17 million. The Dutch midfield enforcer, who has been decribed as a physically strong player as well as a box-to-box marshal is expected to be back from a cruciate ligament injury he sustained in his side’s defeat against Napoli earlier this year.
The major losers in this are likely to be Manchester United who also have their eyes on the 24-year-old midfield maverick. While the talk of Strootman coming to Old Trafford has been on for sometime, the arrival of former Netherlands manager, Louis Van Gaal added more impetus to the possibility of such transfer materialising. Though, the Dutch tactician was not able to enjoy the services of Strootman in the just concluded world Cup in Brazil, he still went on to finish third, displacing Brazil after losing to Argentina on penalties I the semi-final. But the Dutch-relationship between the two has been viewed as a potential catalyst for the deal.
Just as the same way it was easy for Van Gaal to get the signature of Daley Blind, a remake of such is likely to be seen in the transfer of Kevin Strootman too. And not forgetting the fact that Roma has continually debunked claims of the possible departure of their prized investment, insisting that the Dutch midfielder is not for sale. But this is football as we know it and some offers can be too tempting to reject. A bidding war between the two football powerhouses, Real Madrid and Manchester United could see Roma pocketas much as close to €50million in the January transfer window. And such an amount would definitely make the Italian outfit succumb to what has continued to shape the events of modern day football; money.