Louis van Gaal still hopes Ángel Di María may stay at Manchester United, though the manager has no wish to keep any unhappy player so will allow the forward to be sold to Paris Saint-Germain should the deal suit.
At a meeting a few days ago Van Gaal told Di María that he believed the 27-year-old should remain for at least another season in English football following last term’s disappointing showing.
Yet Di María has become unsettled in Manchester and the Argentinian has informed Van Gaal that he and his wife are minded to leave. The manager, although reluctant to allow that, is targeting PSG’s Edinson Cavani, following the departure of Robin van Persie to Fenerbahce, so Di María’s situation could provide leverage.
If Di María remains unmoved in his desire to depart he could be used as part of any deal for Cavani, the 28-year-old Uruguayan who has often been asked to play out of position at PSG by Laurent Blanc to accommodate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
If Di María were to stay at United it would constitute a surprise. Van Gaal is understanding of the player’s situation and respects that he is also concerned about his wife’s well-being. The Cheshire home they rented was the subject of an attempted break-in in March while the family were there. This caused them to relocate and is a factor in Di María considering his future.
Although Di María was also troubled by injury last year his erratic form was a disappointment considering he cost a British record £59.7m. After making his debut at Burnley on 30 August his beginning at the club was bright. There were three goals in the opening four starts from Di María. But he managed only one more strike all season for United – against Yeovil Town in an FA Cup tie. After being sent off in United’s 2-1 quarter-final defeat by Arsenal in the competition on 9 March, Di María struggled to regain a starting berth as Van Gaal discovered his strongest XI.
Following suspension for the dismissal he was left out of the starting line-up until the final outing of the season, the 0-0 draw at Hull City on 24 May. This meant Van Gaal did not consider him as vital for the key games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, being limited to substitute appearances in all of these.
Di María is not with United on their pre-season tour of America as he is resting after his participation in the Copa América. Víctor Valdés did not make the journey either and Van Gaal has revealed the Spaniard was left out for refusing to play for United’s second team, and will now be sold.
David de Gea is with the travelling party even though his future remains unclear. Reports in Spain claim Real Madrid’s strategy may now be to wait and sign the goalkeeper on a free next summer.
De Gea’s contract expires then and, as he his refusing to sign a lucrative new deal worth at least £150,000 a week offered by United, the Spaniard could talk to any prospective foreign club from January.