Van Gaal dealt blow in chase for star

Published on: 21 May 2014

“Van Gaal dealt blow in chase for star” was originally written on Tuesday, 20th May 2014 13:28 BST for [football] direct news by Steven Deeks

Louis van Gaal has been deal a blow after Manchester United's £32m offer for Kevin Strootman has been turned down by Roma.

Van Gaal was finally named Man United's new boss this week after weeks of speculation over who would replace sacked David Moyes, with the Dutchman highlighting which targets he wants brought into the club.

Strootman, one of Van Gaal's top priorities, had been in good form scoring six goals in 28 appearances until a cruciate knee injury ended his season in March, ruling him out of the World Cup, which Holland boss Van Gaal described as a big blow to his country.

Il Tempo report that United made an offical approach for Strootman after Van Gaal signed his deal to take over.

Roma, though, were adament they were not going to lose the player they only signed last summer for £15m from PSV Eindhoven and have turned down the bid.

The Serie A club have qualified for the Champions League and are keen to build on this season's achievements and retain all their top players.

Strootman was told he would be out for between six to nine months and would not have been able to make an impact at Old Trafford until well into the season anyway.

 

© [football] direct news 2014

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