Manchester United Transfer News: Kevin Strootman Warning Sent to Louis van Gaal

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has been dealt perhaps the biggest blow yet in his pursuit of Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman, with the Serie A outfit insisting no amount of money could trigger a sale.

Roma owner James Pallotta has categorically denied any possibility of the Dutchman moving to Old Trafford, even if the Red Devils came in with a bid of £75 million, suggesting the stability of the club is more important than accepting a big offer, per BBC Sport (h/t Neil McLeman in the Mirror)

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It is just not happening. 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 £75m [means] bang, you hit the bid. That is not the way it is going work, it is not the way it does work with us. 

In Kevin’s case, internally, we have never had a discussion that went, 'Let’s sell Kevin'. Not to anybody, let alone Man United. For others, maybe [money would talk]. Our view is that we want to put a great team out there, but we are not saying, 'We have to make a ton of money.' Our goal across the board is stability.

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It is unsurprising the Giallorossi want to hold on to their star man, who is currently recovering from a serious knee injury sustained in March.

The 24-year-old is one of the world's best defensive midfielders and has terrific passing and tackling abilities and a knack for scoring spectacular goals—he scored five and assisted six in Serie A last season, per WhoScored.com. 

These are the reasons why Van Gaal is interested in signing his former Dutch national-team charge, as United are currently very weak in deep-lying midfield areas, per the Daily Telegraph's Mark Ogden:

While Pallotta insists the deal is not happening, the fact that he does say Roma will listen to offers is telling, as it leaves some room for negotiation.

It may be that Roma are simply driving a hard bargain, trying to force the Red Devils—who spent over £150 million in the summer transfer window—to pay big for a player they desperately need.

Stan Collymore on Bleacher Report UK recently suggested that Juan Mata—who only moved to Old Trafford in January—would be used as a makeweight to persuade Roma to part with Strootman in January:

However, even if Roma were prepared to make the swap, it is unclear how much money they would want in addition to the Spaniard to allow Strootman to leave.

The former Chelsea player cost United a club-record £37.1 million at the beginning of 2014, so moving him on so soon would be a strange move.

Pallotta's comments will by no means stop any speculation surrounding Strootman's future—probably quite the opposite—but Roma are clearly not going to simply hand him over.

If United are to get their man—as they very much need to do—long-term negotiations and huge amounts of money are likely to be involved.