Roma Making the Right Call with United's Kevin Strootman Pursuit

In an effort to reinvigorate his faltering side, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has been scouring Europe for new talent. 

One name that continues to crop up is Kevin Strootman, Roma's 24-year-old midfield superstar who played under Van Gaal for the Netherlands. 

"

Van Gaal and Strootman rumours set to continue all year http://t.co/WPa58viZmv #mufc

— The Peoples Person (@PeoplesPerson_) September 21, 2014 "

A quintessential all-action midfielder, Strootman had established himself as arguably the best player in the Eredivisie before his summer 2013 transfer to the Italian capital. 

He immediately staked his claim in the starting XI, joining Miralem Pjanic and Daniele De Rossi in one of Europe's best midfield triumvirates, and went on to make 25 league appearances before suffering a devastating knee ligament injury. 

Prior to his injury, Strootman enjoyed an excellent debut season, and we can use Squawka's Comparison Matrix to see how he stacked up against his Roma teammates. 

His per-90 goal and assist averages were marginally better than Pjanic's, the more renowned offensive player, and he won more tackles than De Rossi, the resident destroyer. 

Still sidelined, Strootman is about a month from returning, per injury data from Transfermarkt.com. The Dutchman can't return soon enough because, via Football Italia, De Rossi was recently diagnosed with a calf injury, further reducing Rudi Garcia's central midfield options. 

At the moment, Garcia is left with the aforementioned Pjanic, Seydou Keita and Radja Nainggolan, a pugnacious Belgian international who was signed from Cagliari last January.

Keita is a savvy veteran with loads of experience, and Nainggolan is perennially underrated, but Roma is a legitimate title contender this season and will need their first-choice trio—of which Strootman is a vital cog—in order to dethrone Juventus. 

Based on his age and ability—and provided he fully recovers from injury—the case can be made that Strootman is Roma's most valuable player. 

There is no reason for the Stadio Olimpico outfit to part ways with the Dutch international, and the club echoed that sentiment in a recent tweet. 

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#Pallotta: "Kevin Strootman is not for sale and has never ever been discussed in that vein at Roma. They are wasting paper"

— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) September 22, 2014"

The Giallorossi don't need the money Strootman's sale would bring— per Transfermarkt, Roma spent a shade over €58 million this summer and about €73 million the summer before but recouped €34.6 million and €118 million in those two seasons. 

That adds up to €131 million spent and just over €152 million made, for a surplus of more than €20 million. Not only did Roma operate in the black, but they were able to more than adequately replace their departed talent. 

Sticking with this financial theme, Roma's brass recently stated that it would take a small fortune to sign their midfield star. 

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According to English papers, #ASRoma warned Manchester United they must pay €75m for Kevin #Strootman http://t.co/UlYQjZjCCa #MUFC

— footballitalia (@footballitalia) September 21, 2014"

And here is where Roma aces their handling of the situation. 

Manchester United are one of the wealthiest clubs in world football, and Roma are effectively saying the Red Devils will need to vastly overpay to get their man. 

Simon Mullock of the Daily Mirror reported that Strootman has consulted with Kees Vos, Robin van Persie's adviser, in an effort to push through a move to Old Trafford. 

If Strootman has his sights on the Premier League, the Giallorossi have positioned themselves to net well over his market value.

Much of these statements can be chalked up to front-office bluster and attempts to inflate their players' values, but with no reason to sell and a contract in place that, via Transfermarkt, runs through the 2017-18 season, Roma can afford to play hardball.