Ever since the arrival of Colombia's world cup prodigy James Rodriguez at Real Madrid, there have been numerous reports suggesting that Argentinian winger Angel di Maria is looking for a way out of Spain. Now, with just around 10 days to go until the English transfer window closes shut, a swoop for di Maria seems inevitable, the destination being Manchester United of all places. But, to get his man, Louis van Gaal will need to splash out a lot of cash, something that Manchester United's owners, the Glazers, have been quite stingy about doing. If United do indeed splash the cash, di Maria will definitely come to Old Trafford, but will be deemed as a luxury signing, or a necessary one?
Firstly, let me clarify just how incredible Angel di Maria has been this year. Di Maria, in my opinion, was the best player to pull on a Real Madrid jersey last season, which is outstanding itself considering how many stars in Real's squad. From doing rabonas to scoring world class goals, di Maria was able to do it all, and he inspired Real Madrid's double last season, despite other stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema in the side.
This leads me to wonder: why on Earth would Real Madrid plan on selling him, despite him being the creative link in their side? The answer to that question would be simple: Real Madrid and Florentino Perez have a romantic relationship with buying any footballer who rises into the limelight, regardless of which players they already have. They have done it in the past, having poached the likes of Ronaldo and Kaka just when they were lighting up the world, and they did it again by buying the World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez.
Regardless of how incredibly stupid this decision seems, it looks as though it is final that di Maria won't be staying at the Bernabeu in the coming season, with many Spanish media outlets saying that he has asked to leave the club. Previously, French money bags Paris Saint-Germain were the leaders in the pursuit of his signature, but now they have seemingly pulled out of the race due to the guidelines of the FIFA Financial Fair Play. The other club interested in di Maria's signature were Manchester United, a club which desperately needs a marquee signing to hit the ground running at Old Trafford.
Now Manchester United are no strangers to bringing in star players, but it is definitely not a sight which most fans are accustomed to seeing, as Sir Alex Ferguson often had to make bargain deals due to the tight pockets of the Glazers. Now, however, Sir Alex is gone and the squad of Manchester United looks in complete shambles at the moment. Despite vice executive Ed Woodward publicly citing things like United have an "unlimited budget", and "Watch this space", United have only recruited 3 players to their thin squad.
Although a central midfielder remains a top priority for a club whose main two midfielders are sidelined for a couple of weeks, Angel di Maria would be a brilliant first marquee signing for new boss Louis van Gaal.
Now many may see di Maria as a "luxury" player at Manchester United, given that they do not lack any attacking options, but he would be an integral cog in the United side. Angel di Maria's flexibility and versatility are not the only two aspects of his game which impress, it's how he excels in all of his roles which impresses me. Last season, Ancelotti used him in a midfield three consisting of a mix of Xabi Alonso, Luka Modric, Assier Illaramendi and Sami Khedira. At first, I thought that there was no way a winger of di Maria's quality will fulfill the expectations set by himself in that position, but last season was definitely the best season of his career so far - and he was played in a midfield 3, not on the wings.
In the opening day defeat to Swansea, Manchester United looked bleak in the final third, with main creative link Juan Mata not in the game at all. It is not often that a team like Swansea (no offense intended) shut down someone who possesses much more quality, like Juan Mata. Having Angel di Maria would have given Louis van Gaal so many more options on that day, and Manchester United would have had one more player on the pitch who could have unlocked the Swansea defense.
Without further ado, let's move on to the problems he would bring to Louis van Gaal. There is only problem I can think of, and don't worry - the 'problem' isn't exactly negative. In fact, most managers would love to have this 'problem' at their club. The arrival of di Maria would bring a selectional headache for the United boss. Although I can see him fitting seamlessly into a team which plays van Gaal's preferred 4-3-3 formation, but I cannot see how he would fit into van Gaal's 'crisis squad' formation of 3-5-2. Therefore, I assume that his arrival would force van Gaal into playing a more attacking and accustomed formation of 4-3-3 with the current crop of players he has, although admittedly, the squad is not in the best possible shape to play that formation.
Finally, I arrive to my conclusion. People may deem the arrival of Angel di Maria as 'luxurious', or some may even say that by signing him we are trying to hide that hideous gap in the midfield of our team, but the truth is that a marquee signing is important to any team or any manager, especially one who is new to a job. It is a good, quick way to lift the morales of the fan and players alike, knowing that they have another world beater amongst their ranks. Confidence is a major part of any team, as a dejected side cannot win you matches, as we saw last season on the pitch. We have seen it before, one world class signing has empowered teams to reach their maximum potentials. Few recent examples I can think of are Robin van Persie to Manchester United and Mesut Oezil to Arsenal. Hence, Angel di Maria would not only provide more creativity and flair behind two lethal strikers, or just flexibility tactical-wise, he would also provide a morale boost to anyone remotely related to Manchester United.
When opportunities like this come around, you have to grasp them. It would be simply idiotic for Manchester United to pass the opportunity to sign a world class player like di Maria when he would bring so much into their side.
Article written by: Mayank Tiwary. Follow me on Twitter
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| Will Angel di Maria be following international teammate Marcos Rojo to Old Trafford? |
Firstly, let me clarify just how incredible Angel di Maria has been this year. Di Maria, in my opinion, was the best player to pull on a Real Madrid jersey last season, which is outstanding itself considering how many stars in Real's squad. From doing rabonas to scoring world class goals, di Maria was able to do it all, and he inspired Real Madrid's double last season, despite other stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema in the side.
This leads me to wonder: why on Earth would Real Madrid plan on selling him, despite him being the creative link in their side? The answer to that question would be simple: Real Madrid and Florentino Perez have a romantic relationship with buying any footballer who rises into the limelight, regardless of which players they already have. They have done it in the past, having poached the likes of Ronaldo and Kaka just when they were lighting up the world, and they did it again by buying the World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez.
Regardless of how incredibly stupid this decision seems, it looks as though it is final that di Maria won't be staying at the Bernabeu in the coming season, with many Spanish media outlets saying that he has asked to leave the club. Previously, French money bags Paris Saint-Germain were the leaders in the pursuit of his signature, but now they have seemingly pulled out of the race due to the guidelines of the FIFA Financial Fair Play. The other club interested in di Maria's signature were Manchester United, a club which desperately needs a marquee signing to hit the ground running at Old Trafford.
Now Manchester United are no strangers to bringing in star players, but it is definitely not a sight which most fans are accustomed to seeing, as Sir Alex Ferguson often had to make bargain deals due to the tight pockets of the Glazers. Now, however, Sir Alex is gone and the squad of Manchester United looks in complete shambles at the moment. Despite vice executive Ed Woodward publicly citing things like United have an "unlimited budget", and "Watch this space", United have only recruited 3 players to their thin squad.
Although a central midfielder remains a top priority for a club whose main two midfielders are sidelined for a couple of weeks, Angel di Maria would be a brilliant first marquee signing for new boss Louis van Gaal.
Now many may see di Maria as a "luxury" player at Manchester United, given that they do not lack any attacking options, but he would be an integral cog in the United side. Angel di Maria's flexibility and versatility are not the only two aspects of his game which impress, it's how he excels in all of his roles which impresses me. Last season, Ancelotti used him in a midfield three consisting of a mix of Xabi Alonso, Luka Modric, Assier Illaramendi and Sami Khedira. At first, I thought that there was no way a winger of di Maria's quality will fulfill the expectations set by himself in that position, but last season was definitely the best season of his career so far - and he was played in a midfield 3, not on the wings.
In the opening day defeat to Swansea, Manchester United looked bleak in the final third, with main creative link Juan Mata not in the game at all. It is not often that a team like Swansea (no offense intended) shut down someone who possesses much more quality, like Juan Mata. Having Angel di Maria would have given Louis van Gaal so many more options on that day, and Manchester United would have had one more player on the pitch who could have unlocked the Swansea defense.
Without further ado, let's move on to the problems he would bring to Louis van Gaal. There is only problem I can think of, and don't worry - the 'problem' isn't exactly negative. In fact, most managers would love to have this 'problem' at their club. The arrival of di Maria would bring a selectional headache for the United boss. Although I can see him fitting seamlessly into a team which plays van Gaal's preferred 4-3-3 formation, but I cannot see how he would fit into van Gaal's 'crisis squad' formation of 3-5-2. Therefore, I assume that his arrival would force van Gaal into playing a more attacking and accustomed formation of 4-3-3 with the current crop of players he has, although admittedly, the squad is not in the best possible shape to play that formation.
Finally, I arrive to my conclusion. People may deem the arrival of Angel di Maria as 'luxurious', or some may even say that by signing him we are trying to hide that hideous gap in the midfield of our team, but the truth is that a marquee signing is important to any team or any manager, especially one who is new to a job. It is a good, quick way to lift the morales of the fan and players alike, knowing that they have another world beater amongst their ranks. Confidence is a major part of any team, as a dejected side cannot win you matches, as we saw last season on the pitch. We have seen it before, one world class signing has empowered teams to reach their maximum potentials. Few recent examples I can think of are Robin van Persie to Manchester United and Mesut Oezil to Arsenal. Hence, Angel di Maria would not only provide more creativity and flair behind two lethal strikers, or just flexibility tactical-wise, he would also provide a morale boost to anyone remotely related to Manchester United.
When opportunities like this come around, you have to grasp them. It would be simply idiotic for Manchester United to pass the opportunity to sign a world class player like di Maria when he would bring so much into their side.
Article written by: Mayank Tiwary. Follow me on Twitter
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