New Roma signing Kevin Strootman has admitted that signing for the Serie A side is a step up from previous club PSV Eindhoven.

Strootman said that the opportunity to play against some of the biggest teams in Europe in the league was too good a chance to turn down.

"I am very excited to be able to play for this great club," Strootman told his website. "It is the next stage in my career development after being at Sparta, FC Utrecht and PSV, a club at which I had a lot of fun.

"[Mark van Bommel] was the man with experience of Italy. He said how great the passion of the fans was, how special the atmosphere in the stadiums was and how there was a totally different football culture.

"What counts for me is the number of big games I am going to play here. I will train every day with top players and get to play against the likes of Inter Milan, Juventus and Napoli."

Strootman has been capped 18 times by the Netherlands.