Feyenoord defender Stefan de Vrij has joined Lazio, the Dutch club have confirmed.
The 22-year-old rose to prominence thanks to some sterling performances at the World Cup, and has now earned a move to Serie A with Lazio. According to sources in Holland, the deal is worth around €8.5 million. The player is believed to have penned a five-year contract with Lazio.
Manchester United interest
Lazio had initially had an offer in the region of €7 million knocked back by Feyenoord but they have got their man - much to the displeasure of Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal.
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The Dutchman was believed to be interested in taking the defender to Old Trafford this summer as he looks to add numbers to his depleted back line. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have both left the club, leaving the likes of Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans and Phil Jones as his only options at the back.
Formation
Given that Van Gaal is seemingly set on deploying a 3-4-3 formation next term he will need to add more options at the back, however they will now have to look elsewhere after De Vrij's switch to Italy was confirmed.
With Mats Hummels seemingly set to stay at Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United will now likely firm up their move for Thomas Vermaelen from Arsenal. The Belgian has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for some time now, but news of De Vrij's move may speed up the process.
Obstacles
The latest batch of reports suggest that Manchester United remain confident of getting the deal done before the close of the summer transfer window, although there have been some suggestions that Barcelona could well be interested in the Arsenal man.
The move could drag on while Arsenal try and find an alternative before selling up, while Arsene Wenger is unlikely to let him join a rival on the cheap despite the fact that he only has one year left on his current contract.
Strong start
Away from the transfer market and Van Gaal has got his tenure as Manchester United boss off to a winning start.
His team beat Roma 3-2 over the weekend after thumping LA Galaxy 7-0. Their next outing comes against Inter Milan on Wednesday.
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