Manchester United may have to pay a club-record fee to secure the signing of Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman. The Dutchman, who is currently recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury picked up in March, has been linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer.
However, Roma manager Rudi Garcia has said it would take a significant bid for them to consider selling Strootman, suggesting it could even take a bid of £79 million. United’s current record signing is midfielder Juan Mata, who joined from Chelsea for £37.1 million in January.
Strootman only joined Roma from PSV last summer, but new United manager Louis van Gaal will know the 24-year-old well from his time in charge of the Dutch national side. Strootman started his senior career at Sparta Rotterdam before moving on to Utrecht and PSV.
Because Strootman is still recovering from his injury, it seems that United will wait until January before deciding on whether to make a bid for the midfielder, with van Gaal set to monitor his progress over the next few months.
Roma boss Garcia has said that Strootman is recovering well from his injury, which he picked up during the Italian side’s Serie A game with Napoli in March. The injury led to him missing the rest of the season and Netherlands’ World Cup campaign in Brazil.
United have already signed Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera and Vanja Milinkovic so far this summer. They have also been linked with moves for Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen and Juventus’ Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal.
They will be looking to rebuild following last season’s disappointing seventh-place finish in the Premier League and the departure of several senior players, including Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.