Manchester United transfer target Daniele De Rossi: 10 things you need to know!

By Jacob Clarke

Rumour has it Sir Alex Ferguson has been sniffing around Roma's mighty midfielder Daniele De Rossi, so here's 10 things you need to know just in case the Italian arrives at Old Trafford......

1) Daniele De Rossi was born in Rome, Italy on the July 24th 1983.

2) De Rossi is a product of A.S. Roma's youth system where his father, former professional player Alberto De Rossi is a coach. He began his career playing as a striker until being switched to the holding midfield role which he now plays.

3) In October 2001 Rossi made his first team debut for Roma in a Champions League match with Belgian side Anderlecht. He did not make his Serie A debut until May 2003 in a game with against Calcio Como.

4) His first Serie A goal came a week later in a match with Torino Calcio. Since then De Rossi has scored 36 goals for his club in all competitions.

5) Rossi received his first senior international call-up in a 2006 World Cup qualifier with Norway when he was 21-years-old. He scored on his debut and went on to be part of the Italian World Cup winning side in 2006.

6) De Rossi's World Cup was fueled with controversy, as a player he is known for his bad temper and during a a match with the USA, De Rossi received a straight red for a vicious elbow on Brian McBride (see blood spillage video below). After serving a four-match ban, he came on in the final and scored a vital penalty in the shoot-out with France, helping Italy lift the trophy.

7) De Rossi isn't all bad-boy though. In 2006 he was praised by referee Mauro Bergonzi for admitting he handled the ball in to the back of the net during a match with Messina. Roma were already 1-0 down and the referee had given the goal before De Rossi admitted his fault. Still nothing bad came of it as Roma went on to win the match 2-1 - Shame Thierry Henry was not that honest against Ireland!

8) Roma's form began to pick up in the early 2000's due to players such as De Rossi, Francesco Totti, Cafu, Gabriel Batistuta and Vincenzo Montella being in the squad. They went on to win the Serie A title in 2000/2001 and finished runners-up for the next three seasons. They also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for two seasons. Recent form has dipped and manager Caludio Ranieri was sacked this season and replaced with Luciano Spalletti, they are currently sixth in Serie A.

9) In 2009 De Rossi won the prestigious Italian Player of the Year award and has been sited as the next Italian national side captain.

10) Though a born-and-bred Roman, De Rossi has recently experienced a turbulent time in Italy. A recent divorce from his wife after his father-in-law was shot dead has left him unhappy and now he has openly fallen out with the clubs fans, he said: 'They [Roma fans] used to treat me as one of their own, they would tell me to throw in another elbow, but now the wind has changed. Something here at Roma is changing."

His price tag is a rumoured £18million and wages would have to be increased from £60,000. It is thought he could make an ideal replacement for the aging Paul Scholes, though Jose Mourinho has his eye on him to partner Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid. 

Bonus Video