How Angel di Maria helps Manchester United

Angel di Maria is a 60 million man

So Manchester United are splashing a quite obscene amount of cash on Angel di Maria but how does he help improve the club? Alex Johnson investigates.

Manchester United's capture of Angel Di Maria for a British transfer record 60million looks like a bold move from the English giants.

Many believe the problems at Old Trafford run so deep that even Di Maria's undoubted world-class ability may not be enough to turn the Red Devils back into Premier League title contenders.

But Di Maria is a statement signing. His arrival at United's Carrington training base will give everyone a lift at a time when new boss Louis Van Gaal admits confidence has been 'smashed' by hollow performances reminiscent of last season's dour displays under David Moyes.

The United board were desperate for a superstar name to adorn the iconic number seven shirt, once the property of Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo - but more recently worn by Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia.

The United business model - based around replica shirt sales, merchandising, lucrative pre-season tours and TV income - demands stars - and they were falling way behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in that regard.

They also needed to improve the team and Di Maria will do that in a stroke. The 26-year-old won six major trophies during his four years at the Bernabeu but didn't get the recognition he deserved from the media and fans.

Despite scoring four La Liga goals and creating 17 more with assists last season, a sign that Di Maria was not entirely happy emerged when he reacted inappropriately at being booed by a section of the home support in January.

It signified a souring of the relationship between the player and the club and encouraged United to think about Di Maria as a realistic summer transfer target.

From that point onwards the Argentine's performances got better and better and culminated in him winning the Man of the Match award after inspiring Real to victory over rivals Atletico in the Champions League final.

Di Maria received his prize from former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, acting as a UEFA dignitary that day, but never without a good word to say about the 'Theatre of Dreams' in Manchester.

The seeds were now sown and when Van Gaal arrived following his long summer in Brazil at the World Cup, Di Maria's name was already near the top of United's transfer target list.

Di Maria, nonplussed by Real's 65million recruitment of James Rodriguez from Monaco, was ready to leave Madrid but Paris Saint-Germain were keen to swoop.

PSG had already spent big on David Luiz and knew they couldn't risk falling foul of UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations again, having seen their spending formally restricted and Champions League squad reduced.

They investigated the possibility of an initial loan with a permanent deal to follow in 2015, effectively post-dating the expenditure to circumnavigate the UEFA sanction, but United could offer cash up front and also had help from a powerful agent.

Jorge Mendes - the man who brokered the deal that took Di Maria to Real from Benfica in 2009 - became the catalytic presence that paved the way for the 59.7million transfer.

Di Maria will add counter-attacking speed to an alarmingly one-paced United side that used to be famed for hitting teams on the break through Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo.

He'll also provide much-needed balance to the squad on the left after Van Gaal arrived to discover that his only naturally left-footed senior players in the post-Ryan Giggs era were Luke Shaw (injured) and David de Gea (goalkeeper).

The Dutchman now has the option to revert back to a 4-3-3 formation after experiencing teething problems in implementing the 5-3-2 system that served the Dutch so well at the World Cup.

Di Maria's adaptability gives Van Gaal the option to be flexible with his system, allowing a return to United's old cavalier style where the notion used to be 'we'll score one more than you'.