Manchester United Dealt Blow In Pursuit Of Roma’s Kevin Strootman
Manchester United will not be signing Kevin Strootman after his manager, Rudi Garcia, confirmed that the Dutch midfielder will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Strootman was a target for Manchester United during the summer; however, a move to Old Trafford failed to materialize. The 24-year-old had suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and now the central midfielder has now appeared to suffered a relapse.
Speaking after Roma’s draw 1-1 with Empoli, manager Rudi Garcia confirmed the news.
“Losing him, especially after a long injury, is a catastrophe for us. The season is over for Strootman.”
Manchester United fans tweeted their frustrations upon the confirmation of the transfer blow.
Just in case people aren’t aware the kind of injury Falcao had to recover from. Strootman is out for the season – again
— kenna (@kennagq) February 1, 2015
This was how Hargreaves started. We need to back out of anything strootman related. Clear browser history, delete cookies, restart PC
— kenna (@kennagq) February 1, 2015
As I tweeted a couple of days ago, Van Gaal simply has to let go of any Strootman plans. Risk hugely outweighs any potential gain.
— Hayley B (@Hayles_101) February 1, 2015
“and if they walk Strootman through the door you’re gonna have to widen it because he’s in a wheelchair at the moment” LOL
— Joey Tabor ?? (@JoeyTabor) February 1, 2015
Meanwhile, Manchester United boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League after dispatching Leicester 3-1 to move to third in the Barclays Premier League table. Manchester United manager, Louis Van Gaal, spoke of how pleased he was about exacting revenge after the embarrassing defeat to the Foxes earlier this season.
“I was pleased with the first half, I could not say much at half-time so I was very happy as a coach,” he said.
“Then I have asked them to kill the game because when you remember the game in Leicester we didn’t kill it but I think we killed the game too much because we have played more balls backwards than forwards. We have to learn it’s also a process that you keep patience, you don’t take risks but when the pass is available you have to play forward without risk.”
Manchester United will be hoping to get through this week’s FA Cup replay against Cambridge United at Old Trafford; however, it is almost certain that the Red Devils will not be recruiting any additional players with the transfer deadline looming.
[Image via skysports.com]
