Angel Di Maria | £59.7M fee agreed I Maybe tomorrow...or the day after...

[Brightonian]

Leaving Rooney out would be absolute nuts. With our midfield problems he's more than able capable of filling in CM until we get more stable there

But I'm not suggesting leaving him out on principle, just that he should only get in if he's looking like a better choice for the CF position than RVP, or a better choice than Mata for the #10 position. He shouldn't get to play on the wing just so as to fit him in, because Rooney out of position is worse than leaving Rooney out.

Whether he can play in the CM position is a different question which i don't want to go into. I was responding to someone saying it was mad to choose Januzaj over him on the wing.

 

[Browniee]

How much have we spent so far? 72m? With the rumoured 50m, we'd be spending 122m? 50m on a CM?

I reckon we could get Vidal for £35m + Hernandez

 

[gasmanc]

What worries me is that Di Maria is arguably better at centre mid than winger.

With our lack of quality at cm, why does this worry you ?

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Exact same people that are moaning because we are not spending. I'd frigging love for United to spend £200m this window

I don't understand it all.

We have so many people who now in hindsight realise that Sir Alex's investments post-Ronaldo sale/Glazers not handing him big bucks have probably put us in the position we're currently in - but now the pursestrings are loosening a bit, going for the type of player who dominates a CL final against the Spanish champions is now a bad thing.

I'm not bothered by what we spend as long as the players coming in are the players the manager wants. I'm still not convinced Rojo was high on the list a few weeks ago, but Di Maria most certainly would've been. I don't think we were that high on his list given the lack of CL and potential PSG interest, but if he and we have a good season should this move take place, he can be the Toure/Silva type player to kickstart us and send us in the right direction (Moyesy said we have to be more like city )

 

[Brightonian]

Must. Find. Way. To. Moan.

I thought the same thing. Surprising number of them in this thread. If we were to sign Vidal and Di Maria, thus making this the greatest transfer window of all time, they'd complain that we're spending too much money.

 

[2 man midfield]

I thought the same thing. Surprising number of them in this thread. If we were to sign Vidal and Di Maria, thus making this the greatest transfer window of all time, they'd complain that we're spending too much money.

Don't, i'm dangerously close now, if you get my drift.

 

[Mister Ed]

Not going to get to excited until I see him holding up that shirt with Sir Bobby, but he would be fantastic signing, best signing we did since Ronaldo I reckon.

Oh god the Angel becoming a Devil, please make it happen Woodward !

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

With our lack of quality at cm, why does this worry you ?

Because I can imagine he will eventually play as a winger for us. He wasn't brilliant as a winger for Madrid, in my opinion.

 

[Shark]

Exact same people that are moaning because we are not spending. I'd frigging love for United to spend £200m this window

The rival fans who constantly said we're broke since the debt was announced will go into 'Man United buying the title' mode too. In fact they already are. Mind you, RAWK still have us down as finishing below them for decades to come. Underneath it all though, I'd say they're feeling the way we felt the summer City bought Toure, Silva and Aguero.

Quality shines through eventually. Not Southampton players and a clown from Milan.

 

[Brightonian]

He's a great young player, but he also stood out more last year because we had a calamitous season. I don't think he's quite ready for a full time job and I seriously doubt Van Gaal will bench Rooney to accommodate him, especially after just having named Roo captain.

He wouldn't have to bench Rooney, he'd just have to bench one of Rooney, RVP and Mata per game. Which, let's face it, is probably something that injuries will do for him.

It's harder to impress playing for a team playing shit football than a team that's flying. It's not as if Januzaj was allowed to start every match or anything - Moyes still kept his appearances quite limited. But he was superb in almost every one of them.

Honestly I love this argument though, because if you back Januzaj you always end up winning.

 

[Browniee]

I don't understand it all.

We have so many people who now in hindsight realise that Sir Alex's investments post-Ronaldo sale/Glazers not handing him big bucks have probably put us in the position we're currently in - but now the pursestrings are loosening a bit, going for the type of player who dominates a CL final against the Spanish champions is now a bad thing.

I'm not bothered by what we spend as long as the players coming in are the players the manager wants. I'm still not convinced Rojo was high on the list a few weeks ago, but Di Maria most certainly would've been. I don't think we were that high on his list given the lack of CL and potential PSG interest, but if he and we have a good season should this move take place, he can be the Toure/Silva type player to kickstart us and send us in the right direction (Moyesy said we have to be more like city )

The constant underwhelming transfer windows have caught up with us. We are £200-£300m behind teams like Bayern, Barca and Madrid, maybe even Chelsea and City. We have to catch up, and we have to catch up fast.

United's attack in a couple of weeks

 

[NoPace]

A player who can dribble and pass. Thank the lord!

 

[Mister Ed]

I hope we are also getting De Jong

--------------DDG----------------
--------Jones--------Rojo-----------
Rafael-------De Jong----------Shaw
-------Herrera-------Di Maria-------
---------------Mata----------------
--------Rooney------RVP-----------

 

[WR10]

My god, he will be worth every feckin penny we pay for him. The way he will electrify Old Trafford will be priceless. Ffs this guy played two positions in a Real Madrid team and completely out shined Ronaldo and Bale in big games last season. He is exactly the player we need to bring out the best out of RVP and Wayne Rooney.

 

[J-Stander]

Rivals fans who have taken the piss all summer about us being constantly snubbed, are now the ones saying we are a disgrace for spending so much. It's bloody enjoyable.

 

[Jaap]

Excellent.

Still doesn't fill the huge gap in midfield though but I'm pleased nonetheless.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

How much have we spent so far? 72m? With the rumoured 50m, we'd be spending 122m? 50m on a CM?

Think our gross spend will be around £150 million this summer, but reckon we'll lose Welbeck, Kagawa, and Zaha late on for around 35 million, plus the £10 million or so we already have in, so around £105 million net, a huge amount, add in Mata and you're back up to £145 million in less than a year, never thought i'd see it tbh.

 

[Andrew~]

United need a good ball-carrying dribbler, these players are usually very expensive. It would be a great signing if it happens.

 

[Browniee]

The rival fans who constantly said we're broke since the debt was announced will go into 'Man United buying the title' mode too. In fact they already are. Mind you, RAWK still have us down as finishing below them for decades to come. Underneath it all though, I'd say they're feeling the way we felt the summer City bought Toure, Silva and Aguero.

Quality shines through eventually. Not Southampton players and a clown from Milan.

I don't think Di Maria will automatically get us back into the top four. Our midfield is gaping, still. We still have a major problem - Injuries

 

[Mister Ed]

Rivals fans who have taken the piss all summer about us being constantly snubbed, are now the ones saying we are a disgrace for spending so much. It's bloody enjoyable.

If the opposition is pulling out the disgrace card for us spending and buying the league, we know we are back on track again, last time they did that was when we signed RVP

Oh please let this come true, I need this to happen so bad

 

[gasmanc]

Because I can imagine he will eventually play as a winger for us. He wasn't brilliant as a winger for Madrid, in my opinion.

He's been more inside forward and been remarkably consistent, in a 4-3-3 he would be perfect for us, energetic, hard working, skilful, unpredictable and will above all give us the pace we lack.
If he can also put in a shift in the center then that's a huge bonus but his season at Madrid last year was him entering a peak, we would be getting him at the perfect time.
What would worry me would be us turning down the opportunity to bring him in.

 

[KeninDC]

United have the money, Di Maria is viewed by Real as surplus goods, he fits a need.

Yep-certainly understand why people would complain.

 

[Eric'sCollar]

Woke up to this with a raging hard on, usually do anyway but there was a reason for it this morning.

Amazing that we are able to attract a player of his quality without Europe. Shows just how big we are.

 

[MoBeats]

I've been working all day, can someone give me a briefing on why speculation is now rife please?

 

[SirAF]

Woke up to this with a raging hard on, usually do anyway but there was a reason for it this morning.

Amazing that we are able to attract a player of his quality without Europe. Shows just how big we are.

 

[KeninDC]

Woke up to this with a raging hard on, usually do anyway but there was a reason for it this .

I really didn't need to know this

 

[Kill 'em all]

The prospect of this turning into reality.

 

[Shark]

I don't think Di Maria will automatically get us back into the top four. Our midfield is gaping, still. We still have a major problem - Injuries

Neither do I, but as I said, quality shines through eventually. LVG is building a team, he's not going to ignore the other issues and when he does address them, the likes of Mata, Herrera and Di Maria will show their worth.

 

[Kill 'em all]

I don't think Di Maria will automatically get us back into the top four. Our midfield is gaping, still. We still have a major problem - Injuries

If there was a top central midfielder available, I'm sure we would have signed one. I think van Gaal has a long term vision and that long term vision includes signing Strootman in January or next summer.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

I hope we are also getting De Jong

--------------DDG----------------
--------Jones--------Rojo-----------
Rafael-------De Jong----------Shaw
-------Herrera-------Di Maria-------
---------------Mata----------------
--------Rooney------RVP-----------

Much as it won't happen I'd rather see this, and when one of RvP, or Mata isn't performing, or as often happens is injured get Rooney in quick sharp, but Di Maria one side, and Janujaz the other must be tried at some point.


----------------DDG----------------
Rafael-----Evans------Rojo------Shaw

-------Herrera-------De Jong/Strootman ---------

---------------Mata----------------

Di Maria----- -RVP-----------Janujaz

 

[Browniee]

If there was a top central midfielder available, I'm sure we would have signed one. I think van Gaal has a long term vision and that long term vision includes signing Strootman in January or next summer.

I'm still desperate for Vidal. No.1 muppet target for me. Biggest ever in fact

 

[RDCR07]

That Rooney was different to the Rooney now.

And what makes you say that? He is one of the best most versatile players. We wont know unless we play him there. Whats wrong in trying that for a game?

 

[Shark]

I've been working all day, can someone give me a briefing on why speculation is now rife please?

http://www1.skysports.com/football/...al-madrid-and-argentina-winger-angel-di-maria

http://www.theguardian.com/football...nited-breakthrough-real-madrid-angel-di-maria

 

[DeMono]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Why do people actually care about this? They rejected him because of FFP. Mendez has offered Di Maria to most of the richesclubs in the world. So what? This is actually a compliment to united because we are not restricted by FFP due to our income.

 

[KeninDC]

Much as it won't happen I'd rather see this, and when one of RvP, or Mata isn't performing, or as often happens is injured get Rooney in quick sharp, but Di Maria one side, and Janujaz the other must be tried at some point.


----------------DDG----------------
Rafael-----Evans------Rojo------Shaw

-------Herrera-------De Jong/Strootman ---------

---------------Mata----------------

Di Maria----- -RVP-----------Janujaz

Would you consider Rooney instead of Januzaj in the 4-3-3 as the preferred starting XI?

 

[RDCR07]

Also they didn't REJECT the change to sign him. They couldn't afford to pay to sign him. This looks like Man City is saving face.

 

[Sixpence]

United need a good ball-carrying dribbler, these players are usually very expensive. It would be a great signing if it happens.

Di Maria is a great 'pressure reliever'. He can run the ball 60 yards away from our goal.

 

[HabeasC]

Van Persie
Mata Rooney Di Maria
Herrera New DM
Shaw CB CB Rafael
De Gea

CBs picked based on form, Mata drifting from out wide - he did that for Chelsea and Valencia, he is capable of that as long as you don't ask him to play like a classic winger would.

433 is impossible.

The problem with that is you have Di Maria, Mata and Rooney all playing in positions that are not their best. We all know Rooney is best at CF, Mata is best at CAM and, as we saw last season, Di Maria can be incredible as part of a midfield three.

The best formation to include all of them has to be a 41212, which LVG has used in the past, where Rooney and RVP are up top, Mata is CAM, Di Maria and Herrera are the two CMs and Fletcher/new DM as the defensive mdifielder.

---Rooney RVP

-------Mata

Di Maria Herrera

------Fletch

Is he £10m better than Ozil?

Absofeckinglutely.

Last season, Ozil did feck all in the big games, whereas Di Maria was MOTM in the CL final and was great in the other big games in the season - there is the difference.

 

[Winrar]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/...al-madrid-and-argentina-winger-angel-di-maria

http://www.theguardian.com/football...nited-breakthrough-real-madrid-angel-di-maria

Also BBC said we refused to comment on Di Maria.

 

[Kill 'em all]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Woodward will be so proud, breaking the British transfer record with a player he signed.