Manchester United Transfer News: Louis van Gaal Slammed for Angel Di Maria Flop

Former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Edouard Cisse has criticised Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal for the manner in which he dealt with Angel Di Maria.

The Argentina international left Old Trafford this summer to join the French champions after a turbulent debut term in the Premier League, and Cisse pulled no punches in his assessment of who he felt was to blame for Di Maria’s crisis of confidence, per Canal+ (h/t Alex Harris of the Daily Star):

"

He was a little short of sharpness in Monaco, but that's normal. He will bring rhythm and an ability to cut into defences.

He will have a good manager. One of his best seasons came under [Carlo] Ancelotti. Van Gaal killed him. He must be left to express himself, he's an artist. Laurent Blanc will manage him and he'll have a very good season.

"

VADIM GHIRDA/Associated Press

Di Maria revealed there were issues between himself and Van Gaal, insisting that the Dutchman’s “philosophy” was one of the key reasons why he eventually moved on, per ESPN Radio (h/t Chisanga Malata of the Daily Star). But there’s definitely blame on both sides.

Granted, the midfielder was shifted around the team too much. Di Maria was deployed as a central midfielder, on both flanks and, for a short spell of the season, even as a centre-forward. For a player trying to become better acquainted with the harsh demands of a new league, some positional consistency would have been a major help.

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Indeed, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville did not want the ex-Real Madrid man to leave United:

Di Maria must take some of the blame too, though. Even though he was moved around the side, he didn’t showcase the kind of quality that prompted United to splash out massive money to bring him to the club. In the end, a summer sale was something that suited both parties moving forward.

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

The 28-year old looks a lot more settled in Paris, too. As we can see here, courtesy of BT Sport, Di Maria enjoyed a fine first start for his new employers in a crucial game away at Monaco, producing an exquisite assist for Ezequiel Lavezzi, per BT Sport:

In truth, it’s the kind of influence this United team could do with, even if Di Maria didn't align with the manager's principles. At the start of his Red Devils career, Di Maria added a completely different dimension to the side’s attack, one that Van Gaal struggled to replicate when injuries and a loss of form gripped the British record signing.

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Bleacher Report’s Rob Blanchette is a little concerned that with the transfer deadline passed, no player has been brought into the squad who can have a similar sort of impact:

Di Maria excelled at Benfica and Real Madrid, and the early stages of his PSG career seem to bode well. So it would be easy to point the finger at Manchester United and Van Gaal as oddities when considering his career as a whole, drawing the conclusion that they were the reason for the player’s lapse in form.

If, as Di Maria admitted himself in an interview with Ole (h/t Jack de Menezes of the Independent), he and his family were unsettled, it’s no surprise he went in search of pastures new.