No offer yet for Dutch star

Galatasaray’s president Unal Aysal has confirmed the Turkish giants are yet to receive an offer for Manchester United’s target Wesley Sneijder and has insisted that the Dutch playmaker will be allowed to Istanbul if his release clause is met.

The Dutchman has been more or less constantly on United’s radar since 2009,when, having been made surplus to requirements at Real Madrid, he looked to be the perfect answer for the lack of creativity that afflicted United’s midfield, only for him to opt to join Inter Milan instead.

It seems that Sneijder’s file has never been fully close as far as United are concerned and when Louis Van Gaal was appointed manager, it was obvious the Dutch playmaker’s name would again resurface, notwithstanding that United already have two number 10s in Juan Mata and Shinji Kagawa as well as other two players, Wayne Rooney and Adnan Januzaj, who are perfectly capable to cover the role.

“With regards to Muslera and Sneijder we have not received an offer for either player,” the Galatasaray president told Turkish-Football.com.

“Both these players are very important to our team and as a result we value them accordingly.

“We won’t release these players for any less than our asking price and that has scared a few interested parties away.

“If a club wants either of these players they are going to have to pay up as we are obliged to listen to any offers which meet their release clause.

“If their release clause is activated there is nothing we can do.”

United haven’t shown particular interest in Sneijder this summer, preferring instead to concentrate on other targets but last month the Dutchman, who has also attracted interest from Chelsea and Monaco, said that, if the opportunity to work with Van Gaal arose, it would be difficult to turn it down.

“I am happy at Galatasaray, I have established myself at the club and have settled in,” the Holland number 10 said in June.

“However, if Van Gaal were to make me an offer, I would have to at least consider it. Nobody from the Netherlands can simply reject Van Gaal.

“In the Netherlands, Van Gaal is something like the head teacher of a school. Not everyone is lucky enough to get into his good books. He trains his players very hard, and always expects the highest standards.”

The saga, as it’s been the case over the last five years, rumbles on.