Manchester United Transfer News: Rumours on Angel Di Maria, Axel Witsel
Angel Di Maria's agent, Jorge Mendes, has quashed rumours the Manchester United star may be eyeing a transfer, reaffirming his stance his client is more than happy at Old Trafford.
As reported by the Daily Star's Jamie Anderson, a downturn in recent performances and reports from a break-in at his mansion fuelled rumours the former Real Madrid winger was unhappy in England, but Mendes kept his comments on the matter brief:
"He was at Real Madrid and wanted to go to another of the world's best teams; now he is and he is happy."
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The 26-year-old moved to the club from the Spanish capital during the summer and had an instant impact on the squad, announcing his arrival in style with several strong performances.
His form quickly took a turn for the worse, however. As shared by Football365's Daniel Storey, the Argentina international has hardly been productive since the end of November:
Di Maria isn't the only Red Devil who has underperformed, but as the summer's marquee arrival, the spotlight often shines brightest on him.
It doesn't seem likely United would give up on their star winger after just one year, however, and if his performance against Burnley was any indication, the Argentinian may be turning the corner, just like a number of team-mates. The Sport Bible's Liam was very impressed:
"Di María has had a fantastic game today, probably deserves MOTM. Looks more probable that Falcao will be shipped on in the summer.
— Liam (@OffsideLiam) February 11, 2015"
Di Maria is an easy player to turn on whenever things don't go well for the Red Devils. He's not the greatest—or a very willing—defender, and with the goals not flowing the way they did back in Spain, his stats often look very unimpressive.
But his main targets in the centre of the pitch, Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie, have hardly taken the pressure off him, while Wayne Rooney continues to be played farther back.
Questioning Di Maria's production or impact in his first Premier League season is warranted, but as of right now, transfer talk shouldn't be in order. Unless the forward openly speaks about his situation in a negative way, which is unlikely, he won't be going anywhere during the summer.
One player who is expected to move at the end of this season is Zenit St. Petersburg's Axel Witsel, but according to Het Laatste Nieuws' Kristof Terreur, the Belgium international is talking to Juventus, not United:
The powerful midfielder has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for some time now, and he spoke about his love for the club in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report's Samindra Kunti back in January:
"I want to play in one of the top clubs in Europe one day. It’s true that I like the Premier League, because it is one of the best leagues in the world, for me, together with Germany and Spain. It is a very good league; it is a crazy league. A lot of my colleagues play there, but we will see. I am still young, only 26. We’ll see in the future. I have always liked Manchester United from when I was young.
"
A fantastic ball-winner, Witsel was regarded as a perfect fit for United, who have lacked physicality in the centre of the pitch in the 2014-15 season.
It now seems a move to Turin is the most likely scenario, however. Per Terreur, he's already met with club officials:
The 26-year-old has his limitations offensively, but there are few players as adept at breaking up the attack as the Belgian. Letting him move to the Bianconeri would be a mistake, particularly given the Italians' relative lack of financial firepower.
If Zenit are willing to accommodate a transfer at a reduced fee, which would be the only way Juventus could seal such a deal, the Red Devils have to get involved as soon as possible and attempt to lure the Belgian to England instead.
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