Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria‘s future is up in the air following strong links with a summer exit from the Barclays Premier League and a switch to Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain could be on the cards.
The Argentina international is yet to link up with the United squad on their pre-season tour of the United States due to his exploits at the Copa America tournament earlier this summer, where he scored twice in a 6-1 thrashing of Paraguay in the semi-finals.
In his absence the club have strengthened considerably and he could find it tough to command a place in manager Louis van Gaal’s strongest starting XI in the new season.
Summer arrival Memphis Depay can be seen as a direct rival to Di Maria for a place on the flanks and after the Dutchman’s goal against San Jose on Tuesday night, could he move above the former Real Madrid star in the pecking order for the Red Devils?
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Both players favour playing on the side which allows them to cut in on their strongest foot and Depay does hold an advantage over Di Maria given that he struck 22 league goals for PSV Eindhoven last season.
It can’t be forgotten that the Argentine lost his place in the team in the second half of the 2014-15 campaign to Ashley Young and if van Gaal sticks to his principles of picking players on form then Di Maria will have to do something magical to start ahead of his rivals if they continue to impress on the flanks.
There can be no doubts that United would be a much stronger team with Depay and Di Maria in the same team but if van Gaal is willing to sacrifice one then its unlikely to be his more recent recruit.