Louis van Gaal appears to have been given his answer after Angel di Maria confirmed he plans to be back at Manchester United next season.
Di Maria has been linked with a move to Paris Saint Germain after a largely underwhelming debut season at United following his British transfer record arrival from Real Madrid last summer.
Amid rumours the Argentine was unhappy at Old Trafford, Van Gaal recently stated it would be up to the player to decide if he wanted to stay. Judging by Di Maria’s comments that, despite a ‘hard’ season he will be returning to Manchester next season, he will be part of Van Gaal’s plans for the 2015/16 campaign.
It would certainly be risky for United to ditch the 27-year-old on the back of one fitful season, especially as he only arrived in the latter part of the summer transfer window. Playing in the Copa America this summer will again see Di Maria miss part of United’s pre-season, but he will at least have a clearer idea of Van Gaal’s philosophy when he does return to the club and he won’t be playing catch-up quite as much.
The struggles Di Maria endured at United were certainly not forecast after the blistering start to his Premier League career. He scored three goals in his first five appearances, including a sumptuous goal in the 5-3 defeat at Leicester which was one of the best goals of the season.
But he then failed to score again in the Premier League, with his only other goal coming late on in the FA Cup third-round tie at Yeovil Town.
However, his lack of goals shouldn’t mask the contribution he made to the team as 10 assists in 27 appearances were only bettered by Cesc Fabregas and Santi Cazorla.
What would be of concern is the fact he didn’t start a Premier League game after the 1-0 win at Newcastle in early March until the final day fixture against Hull. Even then, Di Maria only lasted until midway through the first half before going off with an injury.
At a crucial time in the season when United were playing several of their rivals in the race for Champions League qualification, Di Maria wasn’t entrusted with a starting role by Van Gaal, who instead preferred Ashley Young.
United’s fourth-placed finish, along with the form of Young, justified Van Gaal’s decision, especially as Di Maria made little impact from the substitutes’ bench.
Van Gaal, though, has been pleased with Di Maria’s attitude and has conceded that it is a case of adapting to his philosophy.
On his best form, Di Maria has to be included in United’s strongest starting line-up (as above) and they are unlikely to be fourth favourites in the betting to win the Premier League next season if it was guaranteed he would be staying.
With Di Maria and Memphis Depay on opposite wings, and Wayne Rooney playing as a striker, United have the potential to be devastating in attack.
If Di Maria remains committed to the United cause, then he still has a valuable role to play and he needs another season to justify why the club spent so much money on a player who was one of the best in the world at the time of signing.
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