Di Maria deal start of busy week for Man United
Published:
Angel Di Maria is expected to sign for Manchester United in a Premier League record deal this week and the Argentine’s arrival could be just the start of a busy week of transfer activity at Old Trafford.
United have agreed a fee with Real Madrid – believed to be anywhere from £59.7m to £75m depending on your choice of tabloid – and subject to a medical the 26-year-old will be unveiled later this week.
United are being accused of acting desperately in shelling out such a high fee for a man who is basically deemed surplus to requirements by Carlo Ancelotti but that will not put chief executive Ed Woodward of splashing more cash before the transfer window slams shut next week.
Latest reports suggest the Louis van Gaal is gearing up for a last ditch attempt to land Juventus star Arturo Vidal with an appearance-based deal insuring against the Chilean’s injury worries.
The Serie A giants are interested in United’s Mexican forward Javier Hernandez and the Little Pea could yet be used as a makeweight in any deal to bring Vidal to the north-west.
United are not likely to stop there, however, with their two league games so far highlighting gaping holes in the defence.
Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo are yet to feature and will shore up the back line to a certain extent but Van Gaal is not convinced by what he has seen so far and is expected to sanction bids for Ajax’s Daley Blind and AC Milan’s Nigel de Jong, both of whom he has worked with at international level.
News of the moves will appease worried Red Devils fans with just one point to show from two games that were billed as an easy start to the 2014-15 campaign.
The 20-time English champions are now as long as 14/1 to win the Premier League this year and while they remain odds-on at 4/6 to finish in the top four there has been little evidence so far to suggest the current squad are capable of such a result.
The next few days could very well define both Van Gaal’s and Woodward’s United careers!
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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