Will Di Maria be this summer's Ozil?
TALKING POINT: Manchester United are set to complete a £65 million move for the Argentine in a deal strikingly similar to Ozil's switch to Arsenal a year ago
Louis Van Gaal has admitted that Manchester United need a “miracle” to win the Premier League title this season. Enter the Messiah.
The arrival of Angel Di Maria for a British transfer record of £59.7 million is a statement that United still belong in the big time and he could become the saviour for their season.
After a dreadful start in the league - a home defeat to Swansea followed by a draw at Sunderland - Di Maria’s transfer from Real Madrid is just the boost the 20-time English champions have been crying out for.
The whole club will be lifted by the signature of a genuine world class player at the peak of his powers at the age of 26. Di Maria is a thrilling, bums-off-seats player in the tradition of the greats of United’s past.
You can already sense the change in atmosphere among the supporters - just search for Di Maria’s name on Twitter - and no doubt that buzz will be mirrored among the United squad at Carrington today.
In many ways, United are repeating the trick used by Arsenal to dig themselves out of a hole last summer.
The Gunners started the season terribly, losing at home to Aston Villa, and fans expressed their anger with the club’s lack of transfer business.
The whole complexion of their season changed when Ozil signed - from Real Madrid, of course - on the final day of the transfer window for a club record £42.5m. The immediate bounce resulted in Arsenal sitting at the top of the table for more days than any other side last season before they won the FA Cup in May, their first trophy in nine years.
After the disaster of the Moyes era and an unconvincing start under Van Gaal, Di Maria is the man who can switch the lights back on at Old Trafford.
The comparisons between Ozil and Di Maria stretch beyond just the circumstances in which they joined their new clubs.
Both played in the same position at Real Madrid and their statistics from that attacking midfield role are eerily similar in their final campaigns at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The arrival of Angel Di Maria for a British transfer record of £59.7 million is a statement that United still belong in the big time and he could become the saviour for their season.
After a dreadful start in the league - a home defeat to Swansea followed by a draw at Sunderland - Di Maria’s transfer from Real Madrid is just the boost the 20-time English champions have been crying out for.
The whole club will be lifted by the signature of a genuine world class player at the peak of his powers at the age of 26. Di Maria is a thrilling, bums-off-seats player in the tradition of the greats of United’s past.
You can already sense the change in atmosphere among the supporters - just search for Di Maria’s name on Twitter - and no doubt that buzz will be mirrored among the United squad at Carrington today.
In many ways, United are repeating the trick used by Arsenal to dig themselves out of a hole last summer.
The Gunners started the season terribly, losing at home to Aston Villa, and fans expressed their anger with the club’s lack of transfer business.
The whole complexion of their season changed when Ozil signed - from Real Madrid, of course - on the final day of the transfer window for a club record £42.5m. The immediate bounce resulted in Arsenal sitting at the top of the table for more days than any other side last season before they won the FA Cup in May, their first trophy in nine years.
After the disaster of the Moyes era and an unconvincing start under Van Gaal, Di Maria is the man who can switch the lights back on at Old Trafford.
The comparisons between Ozil and Di Maria stretch beyond just the circumstances in which they joined their new clubs.
Both played in the same position at Real Madrid and their statistics from that attacking midfield role are eerily similar in their final campaigns at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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