Manchester United Transfer News: Is Wesley Sneijder Deal Still in Works?

Manchester United have been hunting for that final piece of the puzzle all summer long. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has found his franchise goalkeeper, in David de Gea, his new star midfielder in Ashley Young and his new defensive prospect in Phil Jones. 

All that remains is a playmaking central midfielder, but Ferguson has struggled to find one who will come to Old Trafford. Javier Pastore looks bound for Chelsea, Samir Nasri will be at Arsenal next season, and Luka Modric is staying at Spurs come hell or high water. 

Then there's Wesley Sneijder. The 27-year-old midfield maestro at Inter Milan has been a superstar for quite some time now, and has been on Ferguson's radar for at least three seasons. United have a clear interest in the star midfielder, but their efforts to get him have been rebuffed by the Italians all summer long. 

But according to a Mirror Football report, there could still be life to the rumblings that Sneijder is bound for United yet. According to Inter chief executive Ernesto Paolillo, they're still willing to deal Sneijder this summer, if the price is right. 

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He told Sky Sport Italia: "Are Manchester United still after Sneijder? We haven’t seen or heard from anyone.

"Is Wesley definitely not for sale? I don’t think there’s anything that can’t be sold, it all depends on the price.

"You never say no if a big opportunity comes your way, but it does have to be a real opportunity."

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Not exactly a for sale sign, is it? But, when you couple that with the statements made by United chief executive David Gill two days ago, in which he stated that they weren't done dealing this summer, that changes. 

Suddenly, this all feels very strange, doesn't it? The vague denial from Inter, the vague confirmation of hunting someone by United, it all feels like there's something going on. 

We know United are interested in Sneijder; they Dutchman would be the ideal fit in the midfield alongside Michael Carrick, or even alongside Ashley Young while Carrick rides the pine. We know that they could likely afford the £35 million it would cost to get him, and could convince him to take a bit less money in the process. 

But just what is going on here, exactly? Is there a signing in the works with a little bit of slow-playing from Inter, or is there really nothing to this but speculation? 

The answer is probably somewhere in between. Odds are good, United have expressed an interest in grabbing Sneijder to the Italian giants and are trying to decide how much to bid and pay him in their offer when it's made. 

Meanwhile, Inter haven't heard from United, so their statements are true, as well. In other words, we're not going to see a deal quite yet, but it's clear that there could actually be something here in the future. 

In the end, I wouldn't read too much into the talk coming from both sides at this stage of the game. From the sound of things, if there is an interest there, it hasn't gotten to a point where negotiations are taking place or deals are being done, and neither side is going to be talking much about it if there is. Don't expect a deal unless something major changes, but don't rule one out completely, either.