I've dabbled in this thread a bit but after seeing a few slightly odd oppo posts I guess its time to throw my full weight behind a post about this potential signing and what I think about it.
First off he's a world class player, we all should know that, however there seems to be a small divide between the fans here from what I can see.
There's those who have become disillusioned with the way the club has gone in the past few years (despite winning a title) and to whom signing a world class player has become something of an oracle, the idea of signing this player who was one of the best in a Real Madrid side that won the CL is a dream for those, despite the fact he is a world class player he has instantly become in the top 5 in the world to those and money is no object throw whatever they want at them, just sign that world class name.
Then there are those who are a bit more level headed and are concerned about what implications this has for the future.
United have been struggling lately in the transfer market, and almost every signing made has been vastly overpriced. They also have not been selling that well either so not a lot has been coming in, in the future clubs will know they can sell United average or decent players at a premium whilst top players can go for astronomical fees.
Had United bought Vidal and Benatia for say 80 or 90 million, I would have said it was very very good business and actually tip United as comfortable favourites for the top four at least as in the past 3 or more seasons these two areas have been the weakness for United.
I feel personally Di Maria is more of a statement than actually a player United are craving, a way of showing power over building the team in the correct order, this almost always leads to problems.
He will improve the side no doubt, but now it seems the thought is that with this world class player we can plug the other gaps with mediocrity such as De Jong and Blind and that's job done, I'm not so sure.
Its easy to dismiss any rival fan looking negatively upon this transfer as jealousy, which to some it may be, but not to all, there is clearly an element of truth to what some oppos say, in the same way there would be if we were to sign him. Yes he would improve our team too, but when you have the array of attacking mid-fielders we do, by how much?
Plus theres no guarantee he will make the transition quickly or easily and then will people get on his back because of his huge price tag and wage bill?
In short it's a bit of a risk, you pay a lot of money for a luxury player in the hope that the whole team will click better and that he will continue last seasons form seamlessly. Of course it may happen that way, theres no saying it wont, but it might be worth some being a bit more humble and not losing themselves too much, hes a great player but remember its team first then names on paper.