Saturday, 13th September, 2014
Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini has warned Manchester United off midfielder Kevin Strootman, ruling out any chance of the Giallorossi selling the Dutchman.
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is known to be a firm fan of Strootman and has been lining up a January offer for the Netherlands international.
Van Gaal put off moving for the former PSV Eindhoven man in the summer in order to see how he recovers from a serious knee injury suffered in March. Strootman missed the World Cup and has still not returned to action.
But Sabatini has insisted Roma will simply not sell the Dutchman, viewing him as too important to their plans.,
Asked about the interested in Strootman by Sky Italia, Sabatini replied: "We won't give him up.
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"He is too important for us and we'll hold him closely."
It remains to be seen whether Roma will stand firm if bids land on their doormat for Strootman in January, especially with talk that Real Madrid have joined Manchester United in wanting the midfielder.
Roma signed Strootman for around €20m from PSV Eindhoven last summer.
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