There have been a few Manchester United transfer rumours that simply won’t go away this summer and this is one of them.
While the defensive and midfield departments seem like priorities for new manager, Louis van Gaal, he may well look at another forward to freshen things up, especially if players like Javier Hernandez leave the club.
But what we do know is that Manchester United will largely play with a 3-5-2 formation this season. This will mean that they won’t be using any conventional wingers.
Yet, with confirmation coming from PSG that they won’t be pursuing Angel di Maria this summer, the rumours about a move to Manchester United have once more surfaced, with The Metro reporting:
Manchester United have a clear run to sign Angel Di Maria after PSG officially pulled out of the race for the Real Madrid winger.
Di Maria has been in talks with PSG over a £55millon to the French club, but after weeks of negotiations, the deal collapsed today.
PSG president Nasser al Khelaifi told reporters: ‘We talked to Madrid about Di Maria, but he was too expensive and we’ve ended discussions.’
and The Guardian reckons:
Manchester United favourites for Angel di María after PSG end interest
We very much doubt that Di Maria – nicknamed El Fideo (The Noodle) for his slight frame – could play at wing back with all the chasing back required in that role.
So the central question is then, could Angel di Maria play up front as a striker, in a 3-5-2?
The answer is possibly. But if United are going to be spending the sort of money that would be required to bring the Argentinian to the club, then surely they would rather spend it on a specialist striker. Edinson Cavani and Radamel Falcao seem potentially available and would certainly do a better job up top than Di Maria.
Regular readers of soccersweep will know that we aren’t the biggest fans of Di Maria and think that he is vastly overpriced at the sums being mooted.
Let’s see some clips. United fans: worth the cash?
Spanish Red
Aug 7, 2014 at 6:22 pm
Absolutely not a player we need. We already have players just as good as him at running round in circles, falling over and missing lots of chances.
Worth about 10 million and no more. A journeyman player in a great team. This makes his stats look reasonable but that is only because he plays in a two team league, where there is the occasional challenge from a third team.
He did score in the World Cup, as lots of admirers like to point out. The fact that it was against that world superpower Switzerland is conveniently forgotten.
Leave him where he is. If he was any good, Madrid wouldn’t be selling him. If he was worth the money, PSG would be buying him.