Not quite the player he once was following a series of unfortunate injuries, Kevin Strootman is still trying to find the consistency that made AS Roma spend around £15m on him back in 2013.
Followed by the likes of Manchester United at the time, the defensive midfielder has been a regular for Luciano Spalletti this season, who seems to have full faith in the Dutchman.
Someone else who appears to be still confident of Strootman’s abilities is Ronald Koeman, at least according to the reports in the English press, with the Everton manager allegedly ready to place a bid for the 26-year-old.
Back in Italy, Corriere dello Sport seem to suggest the Serie A side have caught wind of this Koeman and Everton interest in their midfielder, and a contract renewal is in the pipeline.
The Italian newspaper state one of the reasons for this improved deal would be to ‘discourage admirers’, which include the Goodison Park side.
Roma would be willing to prolong Strootman’s stay by two or three years, which would take him to 2020 or 2021, but the amount paid to the player wouldn’t change too much besides maybe the pay structure (how he gets the money), with fixed income and variable income details to be negotiated.
Corriere are fairly certain: the new contract is coming.
The links between Everton and Strootman will no doubt be at least partly encouraged by both the player and Toffees manager Ronald Koeman being Dutch.
A move for him wouldn’t be such a bad idea for Everton, but as long as he’s getting games at Roma, then Strootman may prefer to stay where he is.
Everton and the Premier League would be tempting for Strootman, especially if they could get European football, but having missed so much time through injury, the midfielder is likely to prefer a more settled period.
