KEVIN STROOTMAN HAS told Roma that he wants them to negotiate with Manchester United over a potential switch to Old Trafford in January.

The Netherlands star is closing in on a return from a serious knee injury and has long been pencilled in by Louis van Gaal as his ideal choice to improve United’s midfield.

Roma have publicly insisted that Strootman is not for sale, with the club’s owner James Pallotta declaring last month that the 24-year-old’s departure is ‘not happening’.

But United bosses are ready to test Roma’s resolve and feel that the public declarations from the Serie A club have been have been used as a negotiating tactic.

Strootman is keen to be reunited with former Netherlands coach Van Gaal and is aware that the 20-time English champions would more than treble his £25,000-a-week salary.

Strootman is back in training after suffering knee ligament damage in March that cost him his place in the Netherlands’ World Cup squad, but is expected to return to action this month.

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