Angel Di Maria: Why Man United must mimic Liverpool

How do you solve a problem like Angel Di Maria? By playing him as a central midfielder in either a diamond or a 3-4-1-2, of course

Michael Lintorn wonders if a diamond might be the best way for Man United to maximise their 177 million front five...

Angel Di Maria's 59.7 million move from Real Madrid to Man United has unsurprisingly triggered a debate as to whether he is worth it, particularly given the travails of former British transfer record holder Fernando Torres, who will surely welcome his arrival more than anyone.

The answer depends on the context. You could say that Di Maria costing a few million less than Real Madrid paid for James Rodriguez, who their fans aren't convinced is an upgrade, equals a good deal.

Alternatively, it is arguable that Man United have been held to a high fee for a player that Real were happy selling, and that it is the European champions who consequently worked wonders securing their primary summer target then making most of the money back.

The fee-speculating is a bit of a sideshow though, with the most important detail surely being that the Red Devils have done brilliantly to sign one of best footballers on the planet at a time when they can't offer Champions League football.

A top-four finish - which is now 2.166/5 following their shaky start - will stop everyone obsessing over the price tag, much as Robin van Persie's 26 title-winning goals in 2012/13 killed the thesis that they were conned in paying Arsenal 24 million for an injury-prone 29-year-old with an expiring contract.

The bigger discussion is how to fit their Argentine acquisition in alongside their four other expensive attacking tools Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera (combined cost: 177 million). His versatility helps, with wing-back, winger, central midfielder and number ten all fair suggestions.

This writer suspects that the easiest way to accommodate that quintet and the other new purchases in positions that they are highly effective in is a diamond. Michael Carrick (Darren Fletcher for now) would sit behind Di Maria and Herrera, with Mata scheming between them and a front two of van Persie and Rooney. Liverpool have utilised a similar strategy to great effect.

 

If Louis van Gaal is determined to maintain his 3-4-1-2 then there is the option of those five retaining those berths (Carrick perhaps rotating with Herrera) whilst adding a third centre back in place of the deepest midfielder. Indeed, deploy Phil Jones and he can even switch between roles mid-game.

 

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Few would have presented central midfield as a natural fit for Di Maria a year ago, but he produced the finest form of his career last term upon relocation there behind three offensive players (Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale), so van Gaal has to be tempted to do likewise.