TRANSFER NEWS: United Dealt Blow In Midfielder Chase

Manchester United are looking for a central midfielder, and are prepared to spend big to get the one that is fit to step into the boots of Paul Scholes, who graced the United midfield for almost two decades. It is certainly not an easy task, as the quality needed is immense, but United have their targets, as do United fans have their favourites for the job, however Daniele De Rossi, the fiery Italian will not be that man to join the United side.

Sir Alex Ferguson has tracked De Rossi for a while, and he was tipped to become Roy Keane’s replacement back in 2005 when the Irish midfielder and United captain left the Old Trafford side. No deal ever materialised, and the chances of one doing so now have taken another blow, as Roma’s director of sport, Walter Sabatini, said that his 27 year-old central midfielder is not on the market and that he was preparing a new deal for De Rossi:

“I will not weaken the squad by selling De Rossi. He said many times that he wants to stay and so we will certainly reach an agreement.”

De Rossi has been linked to a move to Chelsea as well as Inter Milan recently, but remains a key player at Roma, having been at the club for a decade now, playing over 350 games for his home town club. His contract at Roma expires in June 2012 and his current wages reach £60,000 a week, but he will be sure to have an improved contract offered to him soon, and it will be very likely he will sign that contract.

Back in March, it was reported that the player was having a tough time in Italy, with the Roma fans not being as supportive towards him as before. He told of his frustration with this after getting into trouble after elbowing an opponent in the Champions League game and receiving a red card for the offence to which he was highly criticized.

“They used to treat me as one of their own, they would tell me to throw in another elbow, but now the wind has changed. Something here at Roma is changing.”

However, his differences with the fans and that low period now seem to be over, with his father stating back then that his son“would never want to face a future away from Roma.”

United still have Sneijder, Modric and Nasri as possible replacements for Scholes, and in truth, De Rossi hasn’t been top of United’s priorities this summer. There remains plenty of time to bring in that player in the midfield, and United fans have faith that Sir Alex Ferguson knows what he is doing.

Submitted by DBSFootball