Manchester City considered an audacious move for Manchester United record signing Angel di Maria before abandoning their efforts and focusing on the capture of Raheem Sterling from Liverpool FC as per reports in the Telegraph.
Angel Di Maria’s future at Manchester United has been subject of much speculation off late, with the player not hitting the heights in the Premier League that was expected after the high stands he had set at Real Madrid following a A?59.7m move.
And as per reports in the Telegraph, the player was interesting United’s cross town rivals Manchester City before they signed Liverpool FC winger Raheem Sterling in a 49m GBP deal.
Manchester City considered an audacious move for Manchester United winger Angel di Maria before focusing their efforts on the capture of Raheem Sterling from Liverpool.
And while City manager Manuel Pellegrini and director of football Txiki Begiristain identified the England international as their priority attacking target at an early stage of last season, the club also investigated the prospect of luring Di Maria from United due to the Argentinea s struggle to adapt to life under Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.
Sources close to Di Maria made it clear, though, that the unhappiness of the playera s wife in England ensured that a move back to the continent would be the only acceptable option for the 27-year-old, prompting City to look elsewhere for an alternative target had Liverpool refused to sell Sterling.
The report went onto add that Di Maria is being pursued by PSG, who could have signed the player last season, only for FFP restrictions preventing any deal.
With the restrictions now lifted, PSG are once again chasing the player who is not very happy at the moment in England as the above report from the Telegraph cites.
Louis van Gaal had expressed his unhappiness with Di Maria’s performances by stating that Depay must not take things for granted, citing the example of Di Maria struggling in England as a proof and in the process making his view on Di Maria clear.
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PSG manager Laurent Blanc confirmed the cluba s interest in the Manchester United winger in an interview with French magazine La Equipe (via ESPN FC), saying: a Di Maria, hea s good. We have more freedom, but it remains a difficult project for us because wea re not alone in wanting him.”
It will be interesting to see how Di Maria’s transfer story unravels in the coming days, but, one thing is for sure that PSG want the player, and have wanted him for sometime, and do have the financial power to sign him.
As for Manchester City, they have a tremendous young player, and more importantly an Englishman that they so desperately needed, in their ranks.