Manchester United target Radja Nainggolan still open to leave AS Roma to join Old Trafford this summer.
According to a report by The Mirror, Nainggolan has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for a while now and is still open to making the move official.
Interestingly, Nainggolan was targeted by Chelsea last season but now it looks like Jose Mourinho is set to ink a deal.
The midfielder has been linked with the Premier League club after an impressive campaign in Serie A wherein he recorded 11 goals as Roma finished runners-up to Juventus.The Belgian has enjoyed a good season in Italy, playing more than 50 times for the Serie A side.
Nainggolan is a natural midfielder and is hard-working and can be extremely creative while on field. United are working towards effectively building a seamless transition from defence to counter-attack and the Belgian seems to fit the profile.
However, Nainggolan did not always play in his current attacking position. Before this season, he was utilised as the deep lying midfielder at Roma. He played alongside Daniele de Rossi, and wasn’t the sole deep midfield player but was more responsible for winning the ball from the opposition.
With Miralem Pjanic ahead him in a No.10 position, Nainggolan did not have much room to operate. Coincidentally, Paul Pogba’s arrival at United helped him in getting a bettter role. That cleared some spots up front which led to Nainggolan moving forward and playing a stronger and more creative attacking role.
United have been playing a midfield three with the likes of Pogba and Ander Herrera, and Mourinho has often used Marouane Fellaini as a midfielder between them. He gets the ball from the opposition and passes it to Pogba who takes it forward from there. Effective yet simple.
However, Nainggolan can effectively replace Fellaini in this area and that might see the inception of a stronger midifeld pairing which can only benefit the club.
Meanwhile, James Rodriguez and Ivan Perisic are also being linked with United as Mourinho looks keen on bolstering his attack force.
