Manchester United have been linked strongly with a move for Roma’s midfield battler, Kevin Strootman, for quite some time now and some sources have speculated that he may be a January target for Louis Van Gaal. Interestingly, the player has now spoken out about all the speculation regarding his future. Here’s what he had to say, courtesy of The Metro:
‘I absolutely do not see Roma as just an intermediate step in my career.’
That’s nice, isn’t it? I’m sure Roma fans will appreciate those comments. But wait, Strootman had a little bit more to say:
‘But I do think a player who performs well here will get to the absolute top quicker.’
Wait, what? If Roma aren’t a top club, what are they? Could they be an intermediary club? A stepping stone to greater glory. From the looks of things, it does seem that Strootman would be willing to move to one of Europe’s elite clubs. He continues:
‘Of course everybody wants to play for Barcelona or Real Madrid, but they don’t come looking for you so quickly in the Eredivisie. There are odd exceptions, but in general their scouts tend to look around at higher levels.’
In other words, Strootman moved to Rome, because he’d get noticed more by scouts. That sounds like an intermediate step to me, but there you go.
Interestingly enough, despite all of Manchester United’s interest in recent times (and the fact that The Red Devils have a Dutch manager), Strootman doesn’t name check them. On the face of things, it looks like he’d prefer a move to Spain.
But we probably shouldn’t pay too much attention to the clubs he listed. He may have been asked a direct question about them. He may well change his tune should Manchester United lodge an official bid for him.
Suffice to say, Louis Van Gaal shouldn’t give up on him just yet. If he wants to sign him, he’s still more than capable of doing so. A few weeks back, The Express claimed that Strootman might be available for as little as £30m, if that’s still the case, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see a United bid occur this January.
What’s your take? What does the future hold for Kevin Strootman?
Please follow @ThePerfectPass for more football related action!
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.