Football transfer rumours: Kevin Strootman to Manchester United

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/08/football-transfer-rumours

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A week after transfer deadline day and the speculation rumbles on. Juan Mata, who may have been a mite perturbed to hear that Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao were joining the Manchester United ranks, could be even more put out to learn that Louis van Gaal is ready to ship him out to Atlético Madrid, Roma, Juventus or any other interested party with £20m to spend, in order to make room for Arturo Vidal or Sami Khedira. Van Gaal’s well documented admiration for Kevin Strootman shows no sign of abating, if speculation linking the sidelined Roma and Netherlands midfielder with a move to Old Trafford is anything to go by. Strootman is currently recovering from a serious knee injury but could move to England in January, although Paris Saint-Germain may attempt to ruin Van Gaal’s fun.

The exodus of talent from Saint Mary’s has been temporarily halted by the closure of the transfer window, although Jay Rodriguez might scarper for Manchester City once it opens again in January. With players such as Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry, Jack Rodwell and Micah Richards all having departed from the Etihad, City need some more home-grown players in their squad, in a state of affairs that could prove beneficial to the Burnley-born Rodriguez, who, like Strootman, is also recovering from a nasty dose of knee-knack.

Manchester City skipper Yaya Touré is wanted by Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, who has the thick end of £60m worth of Angel Di Maria wedge burning a hole in his pocket. The Ivorian’s £220,000-per-week (birthday cakes optional) contract expires in two years and City chose not to improve or extend it during the summer, so it won’t be a huge surprise if his agent agitates for a move in January.

In the wake of Danny Welbeck’s decision to sign for Arsenal, the big and fickle finger of transfer window blame is circling above White Hart Lane and looks likely to end up pointing at technical director Franco Baldini, who may pay for Tottenham’s failure to sign the £16m striker with his job. This day last week, Spurs thought they’d secured a loan deal for Welbeck, only for their good chums at Arsenal to torpedo the deal with a big cash offer. Still in need of a striker, Spurs have now turned their attention to 30-year-old Brazilian striker Jonas, who is a free agent after negotiating a release from his contract with Spanish side Valencia. Sunderland, Benfica and the player’s former club Gremio are also interested in securing his scrawl. Neil Warnock is ready to trim the fat at Crystal Palace in a bid to reduce the Premier League club’s wage bill and will hawk the likes of Owen Garvan, Jimmy Kebe, Peter Ramage, Paddy McCarthy and Jonny Williams out on loan to any lower tier clubs who are prepared to give them a good home.

And finally, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus are all interested in signing German midfielder Christoph Kramer, who famously can’t remember playing 31 minutes of a World Cup final after shipping a heavy blow to the head after a collision with Argentina’s Ezequiel Garay in July. Kramer is currently at Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he is on loan from Bayer Leverkusen,.