Rumors have it that Chelsea is getting ready to snatch Kevin Strootman of the Italian Serie A Club Roma away from Manchester United and will bid on the player once the bidding opens up in January, the Daily Star reported.
Rumors have been circulating that Strootman is moving on from Roma and looking to find a place at the Premier League with sources claiming that the Dutchman was looking to land a spot on Manchester United.
This is looking to be good for the Red Devils and for ManU boss Louis van Gaal who is readying to bid around £30 million or around $13.22 million for Strootman. Gaal is reportedly a big fan of the Roma midfielder, who he managed for two years as boss of team Holland.
However, ManU and Gaal might find themselves usurped by the Chelsea F.C. boss Jose Mourinho, also a fan of Strootman, who is tossing his hat in the bidding to get the man to join their team come January. There have been no reports as of yet on just how much Chelsea is willing to shell out for Strootman.
ManU is still watching Strootman closely though, and the biding price will drop or not depending on his performance in Roma's upcoming Champions League game against Manchester City, according to Mirror.
Strootman is recovering from the cruciate ligament injury that kept him from playing at the World Cup. ManU and Gaal are not willing to shell out more money if his game is not up to par, especially since Roma owner James Pallotta initially billed Strootman at £60 million or around $26.44 million.
Overall, many are confident that it was not a matter of if but when Strooman will be joining ManU, even over Chelsea and how much they will end up bringing to the bidding table.
Dutch journalist Hugo Borst claimed that Gaal was determined and confident to get Strootman no matter what, according to Telegraph. Borst also claimed that Strootman already shook hands on it with Gaal during a game between PSV Eindhoven-Feyenoord.
Gaal has yet to comment on Borst's claims though, and Roma coach Rudi Garcia stated that Strootman is not on the market yet. Rather, it would be preferable for people to cease all the speculating and hounding.
So far Strootman has remained tight-lipped on which teams he is eyeing and it remains to be seen how things ends up in January with the bidding war between Chelsea and ManU.
