Louis van Gaal Targeting Double Move for Mehdi Benatia and Marcos Rojo

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is reportedly ready to sanction a £40m double move for AS Roma's Mehdi Benatia and Sporting Lisbon's Marcos Rojo.

According to the Daily Mail, the Dutchman is keen to land the defenders, more so after United's opening day home loss against Swansea City in the 2014/15 Premier League season.

It was earlier reported that Roma's director of football Walter Sabatini had flown to London to hold talks with Chelsea regarding a move for the defender.

But it is now believed that he has also held talks with United and the Red Devils have put down a £24m offer for the defender. However, the Serie A club are said to be looking for something closer to the £30m mark to let the Morrocan international leave.

Rojo on the other hand, is keen to leave the Portuguese club and has reportedly handed in a transfer request in the light of United's £16m bid for the player.

But there are a lot of complications with the deal as his current employers Sporting do not own the player completely. It is claimed that, 75% of Rojo's economic rights are held by sports investment management company Doyen Sports.

This ownership issue is delaying the move as Sporting, who are unwilling to sell Rojo for £16m, are demanding a fee of around £24m for the defender.

The Express reports that the Red Devils boss is so keen on landing the Argentinean defender that he has made a personal call to the defender to assure him that United will not give up in their endeavour to bring the defender to Old Trafford this summer.

United are said to be so confident about the issues being sorted that they have already begun discussing personal terms with the Sporting defender.