Well put. I had the same impression - he was very good when we were gung-ho and total mess, but once we become more organized in the second part of the season, he seemed to be totally out of sync with the rest of the team. He does well in counterattacking system when he can follow his instincts, but I would seriously question his attributes when it comes to slow build-up play. I’d sell him if we had a chance to buy a player more suited to van Gaal methods (Reus maybe?), but it seems very unlikely.
Ángel Di María | Transferred to PSG
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I'm not very impressed by his season here but I'd rather we held onto him. Our squad is starting to take serious CL competing shape and one better to have in it then the man who who MOTM in the final.
Although it'd be hard to turn down stupid money for him (£80m) but who would we replace him with? I can't think of anyone other than Reus who may be available and even then his availability is very questionable. Cheeky bid for Sanchez?
We all know how good he is/can be. I'd give him another season anyway.
Although it'd be hard to turn down stupid money for him (£80m) but who would we replace him with? I can't think of anyone other than Reus who may be available and even then his availability is very questionable. Cheeky bid for Sanchez?
We all know how good he is/can be. I'd give him another season anyway.
I think if Di Maria goes it might result into us playing 5-3-2 again
Carrick/Blind could be played deeper, Carrick as CB and Blind as LWB or LCB, together with a new addition like Otamnedi (or Ramos who would brilliant for such a system) and Jones, Rojo and Mcnair and Darmian/Valencia/Shaw that would constiutute a good defence.
With Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Herrera, Fellaini and Mata (and also Pereira and Januzaj) he has an excellent set of midfielders for such a system
Front 2 would be Rooney and Depay and if Di Maria goes Cavani could come in exchange and would complete our set of forwards together with Wilson
Carrick/Blind could be played deeper, Carrick as CB and Blind as LWB or LCB, together with a new addition like Otamnedi (or Ramos who would brilliant for such a system) and Jones, Rojo and Mcnair and Darmian/Valencia/Shaw that would constiutute a good defence.
With Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Herrera, Fellaini and Mata (and also Pereira and Januzaj) he has an excellent set of midfielders for such a system
Front 2 would be Rooney and Depay and if Di Maria goes Cavani could come in exchange and would complete our set of forwards together with Wilson
Rip into him for the Liverpool cameo, yet his passing percentage was better than both Young and Fellaini that day, and he created our best 2 chances of the game outside of the first goal. That's the player he can be when playing poor. People bang on about a striker playing like shit but still scoring a goal, so it's okay. Well Di Maria can play like shit and deliver a killer pass for a goal. With more protection in midfield it gives him a better foundation to work on and maybe a bit more freedom with his play. Our style wont be as slow and ponderous as it was at times last season because we now have better players to fit the style LVG wants and they will be able to execute this more effectively. I still have high hopes for him turning it around. He had some good games at the copa, and showed how much of a creative beast he can be. Losing him will leave us without a player capable of cutting open a defence from practically nothing. There's not really much on the market right now either than could just come in and replace him. Gaitan 
Give me a break.
Give me a break.I don't like these rumours of him leaving!
Massive mistake to sell him, especially if there are no players included in the deal. We're thin on the ground offensively as it is.
How's that?
I think we will have four offensive positions next season; an attacking midfielder, two wingers, a striker. So eight players would give us dedicated cover in every position. We currently have ten. Herrera, Fellaini, Young, Depay, Mata, Di Maria, Januzaj, Rooney, Hernandez and Wilson.
There's a lot of versatility in that group and we have also taken Pereira and Lingard on tour.
We are not selling him yet. There are rumours thats all..
If its £60m I think we would be silly to turn up our nose. He won't be going to a direct rival and we can get a replacement bar Gareth Bale for half the money. Good bit of business. I don't mind either way... Think he could be a big player for us next season.
I imagine we are playing LVG's preferred 433 next year. If we sell ADM I suppose our first choice 3 and back-up 3 would be:
Depay..Rooney..Mata
Young..Wilson..Jannuzaj
Big drop off from the starting three there and very little worth talking about beyond that - Hernandez (who seems destined to leave) and Valencia.
If he goes we'll have to get another player capable of operating in a 3 and I very much doubt we can get anyone more talented than ADM.
Who?
Maybe Van Gaal is prepared to let him go, as he's realised his mistake in signing him/doesn't think Di Maria is going go turn things around.
People could argue that Di Maria doesn't fit the system/philosophy and even though this might be true to some extent, I don't think it was the system/philosophy's fault that for the major part of last season, he was garbage. Yes, he made a double digit of assists, but some of the goals from these assists happened thanks to the goal-scorer and not the pass. Di Maria's cross for Rooney's goal vs Villa at OT was actually a poor one and even though his pass to Mata was very good at Anfield, it wouldn't have been a goal if Mata didn't try that spectacular shot. I'm not trying to diminish his contribution last season, I'm just saying that some of these assists were quite fortunate and his season was shite as a whole. On the other hand, he proved that he could be effective even when he's off form, which only shows that he's a world class player.
I think he'll be better next season if he stays as he'd have a full season in the league behind him, but it's clear to see that he's unsettled IMO, despite his 2 interviews in which he said he wanted to stay and win titles with United. He was hardly going to say ''I'm leaving'', as it's never the right tactic and could receive the backlash of the fans if a move doesn't materializes.
I was actually certain that he was going to stay, but with all these French souces basically saying the same thing + the Guardian and Ogden's reports, it really looks like that we're prepared to sell him. Whether that's because Van Gaal doesn't think Di Maria would turn things around or Di Maria's family wants a move away, is another matter. I think it could be both.
People could argue that Di Maria doesn't fit the system/philosophy and even though this might be true to some extent, I don't think it was the system/philosophy's fault that for the major part of last season, he was garbage. Yes, he made a double digit of assists, but some of the goals from these assists happened thanks to the goal-scorer and not the pass. Di Maria's cross for Rooney's goal vs Villa at OT was actually a poor one and even though his pass to Mata was very good at Anfield, it wouldn't have been a goal if Mata didn't try that spectacular shot. I'm not trying to diminish his contribution last season, I'm just saying that some of these assists were quite fortunate and his season was shite as a whole. On the other hand, he proved that he could be effective even when he's off form, which only shows that he's a world class player.
I think he'll be better next season if he stays as he'd have a full season in the league behind him, but it's clear to see that he's unsettled IMO, despite his 2 interviews in which he said he wanted to stay and win titles with United. He was hardly going to say ''I'm leaving'', as it's never the right tactic and could receive the backlash of the fans if a move doesn't materializes.
I was actually certain that he was going to stay, but with all these French souces basically saying the same thing + the Guardian and Ogden's reports, it really looks like that we're prepared to sell him. Whether that's because Van Gaal doesn't think Di Maria would turn things around or Di Maria's family wants a move away, is another matter. I think it could be both.
Le Parisien are quoting €60m, not £. That would be around £43m. I don't think we are ready to sell at that price. What's more odd is the fact that LVG namedropped di Maria last season as a player he didn't have but wanted/needed. To sell him one season later seems a bit a careless and in all honesty doesn't sound like something LVG would do.
If the rumours suggesting he and his wife want out of Manchester are true, then we probably are better off flogging him to PSG; we all saw last season how he plays when he's lacking motivation, utterly woeful.
So it's pretty clear he's off I think - too much smoke.
I think the Premier league wasn't the league for him, or perhaps United weren't the team - my feeling is he needs space in which to run and Madrid counter attacking football in the big games and relatively weak opposition in all the others was why he flourished. I think the same will happen at PSG.
I think the Premier league wasn't the league for him, or perhaps United weren't the team - my feeling is he needs space in which to run and Madrid counter attacking football in the big games and relatively weak opposition in all the others was why he flourished. I think the same will happen at PSG.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't all these reports come out literally hours after Blanc's mischief making comments on Sunday? I think there's a chance that this is a case of the media hopping on to a bandwagon more than anything else, IMO.
And the British media have been proven to talk out of their arse, so no worries on that score either.
And the British media have been proven to talk out of their arse, so no worries on that score either.
You just described the most likely scenario here.
He'll have a fantastic midfield behind him next year that should give him a lot more service, I think he's got a great season in store if he stays at Utd. It will be infuriating to sell him at a loss and see him thrive in the CL for PSG.
I know I have no basis to be 100% sure and I'm not but I think he may be considering leaving. Otherwise he could say "no" publicly to PSG and say how determined he is to stay, ,specially after UEFA lifted the financial barriers off PSG and that they can offer bigger wages than at Utd.
I know he has no obligation to say such things but it's a possibility he can use. It's not like he's using PSG to renegotiate a better deal with Utd as he's only been at the club for a season. If PSG are so confident and motivated in their approach, they must somehow receive some positive signs from Di Maria's camp.
What is clear is PSG is very much interested in buying him and French media are helping them in their pursuit. English media is as usual clueless, just rehashing the french media articles. So, I am not sure how much to take it all seriously.
I don't think we will sell di Maria unless we get a comparable replacement for him so am not too concerned right now. Ideally would like him to be retained as I think he will come good this season.
I don't think we will sell di Maria unless we get a comparable replacement for him so am not too concerned right now. Ideally would like him to be retained as I think he will come good this season.
If you look at our squad, we have a serious lack of 'magic' players, players that can change games with a bit of skill, a dribbling run etc. Getting rid of DiMaria means we will have even less of those players.
We will pass teams to death, have 70% possession and lose games 1-0.
We will pass teams to death, have 70% possession and lose games 1-0.
I agree that we will be playing 4-3-3 and that if Di Maria and Hernandez leave then those six players will be our attack and back-ups.
Personally I would be okay with that, I think Young proved everyone (myself included) wrong last season and having watched Wilson and Januzaj play for us since the under-18s I am a big fan of both.
That said there is clearly a case for buying if we sold both Di Maria and Hernandez and here I disagree with you that it would be hard to replace Di Maria.
I feel a bit of a broken record on this subject but he's simply not that great as a winger. Look at the facts, he spent six seasons in Europe as a winger in the first teams of Benfica and Madrid. He averaged less than seven goals a season in all competitions, goal scoring this poor is a big weakness in any attacker in a front three. Yes he is extremely creative but it's at a huge cost to possession. If you compare him to Mata last season (using Squawka) he created a bit less than one chance per 90 minutes more than Mata but his passing was 78%, Mata had 90%. And Mata scored at more than twice the rate.
Someone like Griezemann would not just be a replacement but a clear upgrade to me. As a winger in a front three he is not that far behind Di Maria in terms of pace and dribbling and is a substantially better goal scorer. And as a forward he would provide excellent cover and competition for Rooney. An expensive buy but I doubt more so than what PSG would pay for Di Maria.
Sorry this post is a little long, don't feel obligated to respond to all/any of it
Think he's gone
The thing is though, he's already come out and been pretty emphatic in his statements, twice. The second time is most telling, with it being said at the Argentina training camp. More often than not, it's in these settings that the player's true wishes are expressed.
I think, as a club, we will regret selling ADM.
Truly fantastic player to watch on form.
He needs 1 more season to prove himself.
Heck, even Veron had more than one season!
Truly fantastic player to watch on form.
He needs 1 more season to prove himself.
Heck, even Veron had more than one season!
If he goes, good riddance. One poor season and he runs away to a suger daddy club in a piss easy league. Don't think I'd want a player like that anywhere near the squad.
Do you mean like he did a few weeks ago? Asked if he’ll leave Manchester United, Di Maria replied “No, because I’m not thinking like that. In Madrid there were times when I was whistled around the stadium but faced it and then it turned around. I like to deal with things.”
Is he supposed to spend his vacation commenting every rumour about him?
If we sell, we would need another special player I think. It's pointless us dealing with PSG. They should be happy they overpaid for Moura. He could be a big player for us next season.
His denial didn't stop rumors sadly and hasn't stopped PSG from targeting him. I just wanna precise again, I don't think he has got to say something even stronger in terms of denial. Just that part of me wishes he'd clearly tell Paris to feck off in crude and clear words.
He's not leaving. Doesn't strike me as the type of personality that run away because a few bumps in the road. He'll do great next season.
PSG (Blanc) have already admitted that they are interested. I have a feeling we will sell, and make a fair chunk of our money back. We need to bring in a top replacement, which is very difficult so there isn't much available.
I don't know the current structure of FFP as it sems to keep changing but if it like it was a while ago, it means we have more money than PSG while being a much bigger club, same with all the sugar daddy clubs in fact.
It should be us pushing them around.
It should be us pushing them around.
I'm not bothered if he goes as long as we get a big fee.
That's my outlook. If he has the fight to stay here and prove himself then great. But leaving is the easy option, and it won't say much for his character (in a footballing sense) if he swans off to Paris in a pressure-free zone. We don't need that.
Too many sources are reporting this. I'd say there's a high chance he will be gone by the start of season, I'm only hoping that the money will be instantly reinvested on an attacking player.
If he doesn't like it here then he should go. We have enough quality in our team and let's be honest, his contribution after initial two-three months was close to zero.
If he doesn't like it here then he should go. We have enough quality in our team and let's be honest, his contribution after initial two-three months was close to zero.
Already turned on him then when he's came out numerous times and said he wanted to stay and make history here? Great support.
I'll ask again, who would you want us to replace him with
If being the operative word, to be fair.
I said if he goes. I haven't turned on him at all.
Too many shite sources, yeah. We've seen how clueless the media are with our club in recent times.
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