Manchester United Transfer News: United Still in the Hunt for Daniele De Rossi?

Manchester United has been on the hunt for a playmaking midifielder since the summer opened. With Paul Scholes' retirement, United have a sizable need in the centre of the midfield and have targeted everyone from Javier Pastore to Samir Nasri to fill it. 

Most recently, manager Sir Alex Ferguson has shown an interest in Roma standout Daniele de Rossi. The 27-year-old midfielder has struggled to come to terms in his contract negotiations with the club, and had therefore generated serious interest from a number of Premiership clubs, including the Red Devils.

Thanks to the Roma fans throwing their star under the proverbial bus last season, booing him frequently, that interest was heightened as the summer progressed, and it looked more and more likely that the longtime standout would be leaving his boyhood club. 

However, a talkSPORT report today has thrown that interest into serious doubt, after Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini told reporters that de Rossi wasn't on the market at all. 

Per his statements: 

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He said: “We are in talks over the renewal [of De Rossi’s contract] and will not begin any process with other clubs. He is not for sale.

“I’d prefer to have long negotiations over the contract renewal and risk losing him in a year than let him go today. The club will do everything possible to keep hold of De Rossi.

“Daniele is not subject to negotiations, as he has never and will never be on the market.”

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So, Sabatini's statements have put United's interest on ice, right? After all, if a club decides a player isn't for sale, they aren't going to turn around and sell him, meaning Ferguson is better suited to chasing other options in the centre of his midfield.

Or does it? As of now, it's clear that Roma have no interest in selling their talented midfield playmaker, but that's just a statement referencing the immediate future. Roma still have plenty of time to get de Rossi to sign this summer, so they're not really feeling the heat at the moment. 

But fast forward three weeks, and things are going to look very different for the Italian club. At that stage, the threat of de Rossi bolting after next season becomes very real, while United's offer, as well as the offers from clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City and the like have to become much more tempting to the Italian club.

Am I saying Roma won't keep their word to hang on to the talented playmaker? No. They seem committed to hanging onto their talismanic star, and there's a good chance that they actually pull it off. 

But the money is going to be incredibly tough to pass up, particularly because De Rossi looks just as committed to getting out of Olympic Stadium in the near future. If the talented midfielder can't talk his way out of the club now, he'll just bolt after next season for nothing. That's a risk that's tough to take for any team, especially when there's at least £15 million on the table. 

So, while United's bid to land the talented Italian playmaker has certainly taken a hit from the Roma director's statements, they're not out of the race to land him as of yet. As long as de Rossi doesn't sign the contract in front of him (and all indications are he's not going to), United's bid to land him is far from dead.