How Bayern Munich's Pursuit of Angel Di Maria Continues Even After Costa Signing

Bayern Munich confirmed the signing of Douglas Costa from Shakhtar Donetsk earlier this week, signing the Brazilian attacker to a five-year deal after paying (per Transfermarkt) a €30 million transfer fee.

Yet although Costa's transfer fee was only exceeded by those of Javi Martinez and Mario Gotze among Bayern's most historically expensive signings, there is good reason to believe the German giants will continue their pursuit of Manchester United star Angel Di Maria.

Felix Seidel, of Bild (in German), recently wrote a rather comprehensive report as to how a swap of Bastian Schweinsteiger (plus €40-50 million) in exchange for Di Maria is entirely possible. He claimed the Germany international was on Louis van Gaal's wish list and pointed out the fact that the Dutchman had previously had no qualms isolating and even offloading star players.

During his time at Bayern, Van Gaal dismissed Lucio and Luca Toni and benched then-record signing Mario Gomez. As much as United spent to sign Di Maria, if the Argentine isn't part of his plans (and he wasn't for much of last season), Van Gaal isn't the type to be afraid of selling him.

Seidel also pointed out that Schweinsteiger's contract at Bayern runs for only one more year and that he will not be offered an extension. Thus, a three-year deal at United, if offered, would be a chance to secure his desire to play at a top club until 2018.

And critically, he would be a starter at United, keeping him sharp as he prepares to captain his country at Euro 2016. At Bayern, Schweinsteiger would face competition from Thiago Alcantara, Philipp Lahm, Xabi Alonso, David Alaba, Javi Martinez and more and would likely spend long spells on the bench.

From Bayern's perspective, it's no secret that Franck Ribery's ankle injury is of a serious nature and that he and Arjen Robben (aged 32 and 31, respectively) will need to be replaced sooner or later. Costa is a good signing but isn't proven at the highest level; certainly not as Di Maria is. Seidel asserted that the Costa and Di Maria narratives were separate and ran independently of one another.

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

There are some significant hurdles to block a deal. Even if Van Gaal has no qualms offloading Di Maria, there could well be pressure from above at Old Trafford not to sell their record signing. And Bayern have never spent such an enormous figure on a player as they would have to on Di Maria.

The player's wages are also a serious concern as he earns (per the Guardian) £280,000 per week, a figure that, due to devaluation of the euro, has become nearly €400,000, amounting to a €20.5 million annual salary. Paying the Argentine such a wage would completely blow apart Bayern's salary structure.

Yet if Bayern didn't think they could make a deal happen, the rumours would have died. Newspaper informants would not continue to feed news, and Bayern staff and officials wouldn't entertain the subject in press conferences.

On Monday, Schweinsteiger made his position quite clear. In an interview with Die Welt (h/t Goal.com), he asserted he wanted to win a fourth consecutive Bundesliga title with Bayern. That could have closed the book on a possible swap.

Yet, on Thursday, Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer left the door open to a possible Schweinsteiger exit. In a press conference (per Goal.com), he said: "Basically, nothing is excluded. It's a crazy world. He has clearly expressed that he is an important part of the team, but let's see. We're still waiting."

At the same press conference (per Goal.com), Pep Guardiola denied interest in Di Maria, shortly after labelling him a "great player" but commenting that the transfer fee United paid for his services was "really crazy."

This all amounts to Bayern negotiating publicly with United. Sammer wouldn't have said Schweinsteiger's sale was a possibility if it wasn't something the club were seriously considering. By way of contrast, the club wouldn't even entertain the subject of, for example, Thomas Muller or David Alaba being sold. In fact, per the Twitter account of Bild's Christian Falk, Guardiola on Thursday declined to comment on United's interest in Muller.

Meanwhile, Bayern press officer Markus Horwick wouldn't have even let reporters raise the question of Di Maria if it were a dead topic. Guardiola was respectful in complimenting Di Maria whilst doing his part in lowering United's expectations for negotiations.

The latest word is that a deal is still a few steps away from completion. On Friday, Bild (in German, subscription required) reported that Di Maria remains too expensive, with demands from United and the player still too high.

Yet Bayern continuing to discuss Di Maria and Schweinsteiger publicly is a clear sign that they continue to try to grind out a deal. The transfer window has only just opened; there's plenty of time left for an agreement to be made.

@Mr_Bundesliga