complete a £65 million move for the Argentine in
a deal strikingly similar to Ozil's switch to Arsenal
a year ago
Louis Van Gaal has admitted that Manchester
United need a "miracle" to win the Premier
League title this season. Enter the Messiah.
The arrival of Angel Di Maria for a British
transfer record of £59.7 million is a statement that
United still belong in the big time and he could
become the saviour for their season.
After a dreadful start in the league - a home
defeat to Swansea followed by a draw at
Sunderland - Di Maria's transfer from Real
Madrid is just the boost the 20-time English
champions have been crying out for.
The whole club will be lifted by the signature of a
genuine world class player at the peak of his
powers at the age of 26. Di Maria is a thrilling,
bums-off-seats player in the tradition of the greats
of United's past.
You can already sense the change in atmosphere
among the supporters - just search for Di Maria's
name on Twitter - and no doubt that buzz will be
mirrored among the United squad at Carrington
today.
In many ways, United are repeating the trick used
by Arsenal to dig themselves out of a hole last
summer.
The Gunners started the season terribly, losing at
home to Aston Villa, and fans expressed their
anger with the club's lack of transfer business.
The whole complexion of their season changed
when Ozil signed - from Real Madrid, of course -
on the final day of the transfer window for a club
record £42.5m. The immediate bounce resulted in
Arsenal sitting at the top of the table for more
days than any other side last season before they
won the FA Cup in May, their first trophy in nine
years.
After the disaster of the Moyes era and an
unconvincing start under Van Gaal, Di Maria is
the man who can switch the lights back on at Old
Trafford.
The comparisons between Ozil and Di Maria
stretch beyond just the circumstances in which
they joined their new clubs.
Both played in the same position at Real Madrid
and their statistics from that attacking midfield
role are eerily similar in their final campaigns at
the Santiago Bernabeu.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.