Manchester United have been told they will have to pay more than £79million to land midfielder Kevin Strootman from Roma.
The Serie A side’s head coach, Rudi Garcia, addressed the subject in the wake of the two sides meeting in a friendly in the USA, which the Premier League outfit won 3-2.
Garcia is fully aware of the widespread speculation that United boss Louis van Gaal wants to lure his compatriot to England during the summer transfer window and refused to rule out a deal – but only if a mega-money bid is submitted.
The manager also revealed that the 24-year-old is recovering well from the serious anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained last term, which kept him sidelined for the second half of the campaign.
In quotes attributed to him by gazzettagiallorossa.it, Garcia said: “He is well on the way to a full recovery.
“As for a possible assignment at United, what can I say about these rumours?
“For a figure of more than 100m euros (£79m) we can sit down and think about it.”
A source close to Old Trafford told Football Express News the club will leave no stone unturned in medical tests on the player, if a deal is struck.
They will then seek to ascertain whether he is on track to return to the same kind of level at which he operated before the injury.
He would have been a certain starter for van Gaal’s Holland side in this summer’s World Cup had he been fit and available for selection.