Manchester United last night agreed to a British transfer record breaking £59.7 million deal to sign Angel di Maria from Real Madrid. The move makes Di Maria the costliest player in English history, dwarfing the £50 million Chelsea splashed out on Fernando Torres back in 2011, and the £37 million United paid for Juan Mata in January - their previous highest outlay on a player. Di Maria scored four goals last season - the same amount Nani, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Wilfried Zaha managed between them in 2013-14 - while he also provided 17 assists, more than any other player managed in La Liga. His arrival at Old Trafford will instantly transform a laborious midfield short on creativity, but is he worth the near-£60 million fee being quoted? Darren Lewis of the Daily Mirror believes the Reds may just be paying slightly over the odds on the Argentinian, but claims United have "no choice" in paying the amount as they are "desperate". He said on Twitter: The cost of Di Maria'a arrival will push United's transfer spend this summer to £132 million, having already bought left-back Luke Shaw, midfielder Ander Herrera and Di Maria's Argentina team-mate Marcos Rojo for a combined £72 million over the past few months. It marks the club's busiest period in the transfer window in recent memory and only the third time since 2008 that United have broken their club-record fee on a player, with Dimitar Berbatov moving from Spurs for £30.75 million six years ago. And given that the Reds are in debt to the tune of £351 million, and the fact the newly-implemented Financial Fair Play policy has already claimed a number of victims in Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, is it sensible for United to sanction such a mega-money deal during these times of financial uncertainty? What do you think? Let us know if you think the Argentinian is worth the massive outlay in our poll, below.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
