The breaking news tonight that Paris St. Germain have agreed a £45.99m fee with Manchester United for Angel Di Maria is sure to divide supporters; those who feel the Argentine winger should have been given another chance, and those who feel the club are right to cut their losses and cash in.
Manchester United legend Gordon Hill, who illuminated the left wing in a fashion Di Maria sadly failed to do consistently in his (so far) first season at Old Trafford, is in the latter camp.
‘I thought he was brilliant in his first few games and I thought his goal against Leicester was the goal of the season for us. But he hasn’t reproduced the form we know he’s capable of,’ Hill told us exclusively last month.
‘The fans would love him to. As a winger, I would love it – show us what you can do, go at them. But the defenders have been smarter than people realise. There’s nothing coming out of him that shows me he’s a Man Utd player. He’s got the ability but he gets frozen out of games. He’s learned that it’s much harder in England than in Spain where there are only about three teams.’
United have reportedly accepted an offer of around £46m for the player who cost them £59.7m last summer and Hill believes that represents a good deal for United.
‘If an offer of £50m comes in, I wouldn’t hesitate, you could get someone in who works just as hard without any problem,’ he recently said. ‘For almost a quarter of the cost you’ve got Ashley Young who plays in the same position and does a better job.’
Di Maria played 27 times in the Premier League scoring three goals – with 32 appearances and 4 goals in all competitions.
