Wednesday’s biggest stories for the Red Devils.
Juventus planning £20m January raid for Manchester United’s Juan Mata
Mata could leave Old Trafford just a year after completing a £37.1m transfer from Chelsea as Juve prepare a New Year bid, according to the Daily Express.
At the time the Spain international was a club record signing – which has since been topped by Angel di Maria’s £59.7m switch – but has struggled to truly settle.
Manager Louis van Gaal prefers di Maria and captain Wayne Rooney ahead of Mata in the No.1o role and having already sold Shinji Kagawa may also be open to allowing the 26-year-old to leave.
SEE ALSO:
Juan Mata transfer update.
Petr Cech Real Madrid January transfer.
Serbia v Albania descends into riots.
Juve are also keen on signing Javier Hernandez
The Red Devils targets for La Bianconeri doesn’t end there either as the reigning Serie A champions are also interested in signing Hernandez in January, according to the Daily Star.
The striker known as ‘Chicharito’ is currently on-loan at Real Madrid, but has struggled to break into the starting XI ahead of Karim Benzema and could well be open to a move to Italy.
However, there are concerns from the Italian champions as to whether Hernandez will lower his hefty wage demands.
United legend Paul Scholes agrees with Roy Hodgson’s sentiments over Raheem Sterling
The controversy surrounding Sterling’s decision to tell England boss Hodgson he couldn’t play against Estonia on Sunday because he was tired continues to rumble on.
The 19-year-old Liverpool attacker came on as a second half substitute in the Euro 2016 qualifier and Scholes agrees with the manager that the youngster didn’t need two days to recover.
“If you are 19 years old like Raheem Sterling, or even 25 years old like Daniel Sturridge, you do not need a two-day recovery after playing a game,” the former midfielder wrote in the Independent.
Wayne Rooney congratulates John O’Shea after scoring equaliser against Germany
One of the big shocks in Euro 2016 qualification was the Republic of Ireland’s 1-1 draw with the 2014 World Cup winners on Tuesday.
After Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos had given the Germans the lead, O’Shea of Sunderland scored a last minute equaliser and Rooney was moved to congratulate his former teammate on Twitter.
AS Roma to offer Kevin Strootman a pay rise to ward off Red Devils interest
There has been strong interest from the 13-time Premier League champions in the midfielder for some time, but Roma are refusing to sell the 24-year-old.
Strootman has missed most of 2014 due to a a cruciate ligament injury, but still remains a firm favourite of van Gaal’s from their time together working in the Netherlands national team.
However, Roma want to ward off interest once and for all by offering the Dutchman a significant pay rise from his current £25,000-a-week wages, according to the Mirror.