Manager Rudi Garcia has ruled out the possibility of Kevin Strootman leaving Roma for Manchester United.
United are understood to retain an interest in Strootman and reports in Italy claim the 20-time English champions have bid at least £30million for the Holland midfielder. But Garcia insists the 24-year-old is going nowhere.
“Strootman is a Roma player. He will be a Roma player this year. There is no doubt about that,” Garcia said on the eve of Roma’s friendly against United in Denver. “Only he can say whether he wants to stay but it was never an issue for him to go to another club. There is no question of it.”
New United manager Louis van Gaal knows Strootman well from his time as Netherlands coach.
However, Van Gaal had to do without the midfielder at the World Cup as he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in March.
Meanwhile, Arturo Vidal has said he is not going to sign for United. The Chilean midfielder was faced with questions upon his arrival in Turin after a post World-Cup break.
"I am still on my holidays," he told Sky Sports Italia. "I don't know if I am staying at Juventus at the moment. I have not spoken to Allegri or my team-mates yet."
Asked whether he would be joining Manchester United, he laughed and said: “No, no.”
Vidal was a target of former United manager David Moyes, and remained on the list for van Gaal to consider.
Bye bye, Bébé
Bébé’s nightmare spell at United has finally come to an end after he was sold to
Benfica
for a reported €3m (£2.4m) fee.
Benfica confirmed it had bought the player, releasing a statement on its website which read: “Bébé has signed an agreement with SL Benfica for four years.” Guardian Service
