One day you’re leaving. The next day you’re staying. Next week, who knows?
As is the life of a player amidst transfer rumors in European football.
Today’s example is Roma midfielder and Dutch international Kevin Strootman.
The 24-year-old defensive midfielder hasn’t played since suffering a terrible knee injury last March. While the injury forced Strootman to miss the World Cup for the Netherlands, his stock continues to rise to top clubs throughout Europe, especially Manchester United.
[ RELATED: Kevin Strootman carted off field with knee injury against Napoli ]
Louis van Gaal has been keen to bolster his squad defensively, and Strootman could slot in perfectly in a holding midfield role. With experience under van Gaal for the national team and with a nickname like “The Dutch Roy Keane,” a Strootman move to United seems too good to be true.
Which is exactly what Roma’s owner thinks.
James Pallotta was emphatic when telling the media of his plans to keep Kevin Strootman in Rome, no matter what.
It is just not happening. I have told the papers that they should stop wasting paper. We don’t have any interest in selling Kevin.
Obviously as business people when people call us and say ‘we want your player’ you are going to listen to them. You have to do that, that is the business side.
That doesn’t mean you are going to make a decision that [an offer of] £75m, bang you hit the bid. That is not the way it is going to work, it is not the way it does work with us.”
Strong words from Roma’s owner, even saying that £75 million would not mean a surefire sale of his prized midfielder. The tone from Pallotta was much different than manager Rudi Garcia’s comments a few days ago, who seemed unsure of Strootman’s future at the club.
Good thing it’s only October, so we have three more months to try and figure out what’s really going on with all this transfer talk.
