Player Focus: Should United and Di Maria Part Ways this Summer?

Not many believe Angel Di Maria will be a Manchester United player next season. Some are under the impression United will entertain a swap deal with Bayern Munich, while others – the French press included – already claim Paris Saint-Germain have agreed to sign the Argentina international. It has even been reported that the player is pushing for the move himself.

Losing a player of Di Maria’s ilk would hardly be the greatest advert for other elite players around Europe contemplating a move to the Premier League and United would be foolish to let arguably the best talent they’ve had since Cristiano Ronaldo leave after just 12 months.

What cannot be denied, pulled apart or even debated, is that Di Maria's first year in the Premier League did not go as planned.
 
United paid Real Madrid £59.7m for the 27-year-old’s signature last summer and whilst it laid down a big statement of intent under the new Louis van Gaal regime, it would also end up turning into the scoffing point of pub jokes as the season wound on.
 
“I accept he has had problems off the pitch settling into life in Manchester [his house being ran-sacked], but there is no way he can see the season as anything other than a disappointment,” was the verdict of United legend Paul Scholes at the end of the season.
 
Van Gaal and United CEO Ed Woodward have a huge decision to make this summer: call it a day on a club record transfer that ended up losing his place to Ashley Young or give him the benefit of first-season syndrome and build a system around his supernatural talents.
 
If any reminder needed given, then Van Gaal would have caught a glimpse of Di Maria’s devastating best during Argentina’s mauling of Paraguay in the Copa America semi-finals last month. The United winger scored two and set up another on his way to a perfect 10 WhoScored.com rating.
 
Unsurprisingly, he was the best player on the pitch. Not even Lionel Messi (9.7), who set up three of Argentina’s six goals, could usurp his teammates position. He finished the competition as the second highest rated player (7.9) and comfortably in WhoScored.com’s team of the tournament.
 
This was Di Maria near his unrelenting best. His man of the match display against Paraguay was arguably his best since receiving the same gong in Real Madrid’s Champions League final triumph in 2014 – his penultimate game as a Galactico. Now he is a Gaalactico, but the performances haven’t quite been up to standard.
 
Di Maria’s Copa America showing suggested the shackles had been cut loose. It was as if he’d been given the freedom to chew up the open space; a privilege he was oddly denied at Old Trafford last season. But even if it seemed like Di Maria had been given a free role in Argentina colours, that wasn’t actually the case. He’d compromised with the demands of Gerardo Martino and showcased a defensive side to his game that Van Gaal has so far failed to extract.
 
Admittedly, Di Maria’s 2.2 tackles per game at the Copa America come from a far smaller sample size (six games) than his 27 Premier League appearances, but at United he seemed unwilling to help out his isolated defenders at times, averaging a mere 0.5 tackles per game. Only Radamel Falcao averaged fewer tackles per game (0.4) of United players that made more than five appearances in the Premier League, and he is no longer at the club.
 
And it is that link that raises United’s next headache. South American’s, historically, have not fared well at Old Trafford. Juan Sebastián Verón arrived at United with a world-class reputation but left just two years later with that in tatters. The same can be said for Diego Forlan and Falcao. Brazilian duo Kleberson and Anderson also make for an unflattering list of failures. Added to that, it is commonly suggested that Van Gaal struggles to connect with South Americans.

“Louis van Gaal has never been a fan of South American players, as my good friend Juan Roman Riquelme will tell you from his time under the Dutchman at Barcelona,” Forlan is quoted as saying in Middle-Eastern paper The National last week. “Van Gaal also had a habit of letting his South Americans leave when he was at Bayern Munich, yet United signed Di Maria and Radamel Falcao, the Colombia striker, on huge money last summer.”
 
It is an unexplained mystery why South American players, who traditionally thrive on the big stage, have so far cowered in front of the lights of Old Trafford, but for Di Maria it could still be different. The 27-year-old joined illustrious company when he was awarded the iconic United No.7 shirt and to buckle under the weight it carries within 12 months would be a disappointment for all concerned.
 
“The fact that the club have chosen to give me that shirt number also gives me a huge confidence boost, so that’s why I’m very happy to have this number,” Di Maria told MUTV at the start of the season.

 
Initially, it looked like Di Maria was worth every penny of the British club transfer record United paid. He scored three goals in his first five Premier League appearances, including an early goal of the season contender against Leicester, but after netting against Everton at the start of October, Di Maria would not score another league goal all season. He would only have three shots on goal beyond February 21. This was a player that had a direct hand in 29 goals across the league and Champions League the season before joining United.
 
He should have been finishing the season as United’s talisman. Instead that was Marouane Fellaini. It is also worth noting that Di Maria’s decline has not been completely self-induced. Van Gaal’s philosophy of controlled, strategic football does no favours to Di Maria’s natural instincts of direct running and ferocious speed. It is no surprise that Di Maria’s best form came during those early stages, when the United squad hadn’t come to grips with Van Gaal’s methods.
 
The Dutchman’s remedy was not to give Di Maria the freedom he craved, but to shunt him around every forward position his unorthodox systems allowed for. In the end Van Gaal just stopped picking him - an incredible turnaround for someone that had only been considered the closet player to challenging Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s moniker as the worlds best a few months prior.
 
United’s decision to sign Memphis Depay this summer has also not eased speculation regarding Di Maria’s future. But while this article may seem to contradict the title, it is actually important United keep Di Maria.
 
The Argentina international joined at a time when Van Gaal himself was learning the ropes of English football, hampered by a mentally scarring burglary and blighted by injuries.
 
In those intertwining moments, Di Maria still managed to make 10 assists in the Premier League – five more than the nearest United player. Only Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas (160.6mins) required fewer minutes to set up a teammate last season than the Argentinean winger (164.5mins). He was also in the top 10 for dribbles attempted per 90 minutes of players that made more than 20 appearances in the Premier League (6) and likewise for key passes per 90 minutes (2.7).
 
United will also be entertaining Champions League football this season - providing they overcome a tricky qualifier next month – and they will need players of Di Maria’s ilk if they want to be taken seriously by Europe’s elite powerhouses. Depay may prove to be the next United superstar, but is still awaiting his Champions League debut.
 
“Nevertheless, the quality is there and I don’t think United can afford to lose him,” Scholes continued. “They need that kind of player if they are to compete in the Champions League. Let’s see what next seasons brings.”
 
United would be wise to follow the thoughts of the club’s third highest appearance maker and allow Di Maria to get significantly closer to their former midfielder's tally.

Should United keep hold of Di Maria this summer or cash in on the Argentine? Let us know in the comments below