Van Gaal hopes Sneijder makes Chelsea switch

Chelsea target Wesley Sneijder is being encouraged to reunite with Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge by the Netherlands national team coach Louis van Gaal.

The midfielder, who recently turned 29, only signed for Galatasaray from Inter Milan in January but the Turkish club suggest that Sneijder is available for around €15 million and Van Gaal believes he will stand a better chance of a place in the Dutch squad should he move to West London.

Sneijder is no longer guaranteed his place in the national side which is the reason why he has been replaced by Manchester United’s Robin van Persie as captain, but Van Gaal says it will be easier to keep an eye on him if he’s in London.

The former Bayern Munich coach said:

“Sneijder to Chelsea is just a rumour at the moment, but it would be much easier for me to keep an eye on his progress if he were to make the move to Chelsea.

“I could be at Chelsea within an hour from the Netherlands and Mourinho is a friend of mine.”

(Evening Standard)

There is a lot of mutual respect between Sneijder and Mourinho as the duo enjoyed a successful working relationship in Milan with the highlight being the treble in the 2009-10 season, which is the most obvious reason for the link, but I don’t think the Portuguese manager will deem him a necessary purchase for the Blues this season. Of course, things could have been different had Frank Lampard not signed a deal to stay on as Mourinho may have looked to bring in someone of Sneijder’s experience in that scenario.

The Dutchman has had a so-so time in Istanbul and hadn’t looked the player of old over the past 18 months but he did manage to find the net four times for Galatasaray in just the 16 games.

Although there’s still plenty of football left in Sneijder his high wages wouldn’t represent value for money as far as Chelsea are concerned as it’s unlikely that he would be guaranteed a starting spot.

Would you consider Sneijder as a wise purchase for the Blues?

Source: Evening Standard