Barcelona Hinting Towards A Di Maria Swoop From PSG
Reuters / Benoit Tessier
Barcelona are considering making a bid for ex-Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria, according to multiple reports.
French outlet Le10 Sport claims that the Paris Saint-Germain player is looking to move out of the nation at the end of the season, and the prospect of playing alongside his Argentine teammate Leo Messi at Barcelona is understood to be a major reason.
The deal is expected to be close to £50m, according to the Spanish media outlet, Don Balon.
This move caught traction when Spanish media reported that Arda Turan was going to be made available in the transfer market by Barcelona, despite the player being stated as happy with life at Camp Nou.
Mundo Deportivo, another Spanish publication, says that the Barcelona chiefs are particularly interested in Di Maria, as he had rejected a Barca bid to join Paris Saint-Germain, leaving behind a flop period in England.
The Catalan club’s upper management’s belief in Di Maria strengthened after the player’s impressive performance against them in the Champions League Last-16 round.
He has been in particularly good form since joining the Ligue 1 club two years ago. Once claimed among the best in the world, he has scored 15 and assisted 8 in all competitions this season.
Di Maria is a player with sublime skill, pace, and agility. Moreover, La Liga not being as physical as the Premier League surely helps the player due to his unimposing physical stature. Having previous experience in the league with Real Madrid is also a very attractive trait, as he would be able to adjust faster.
With Barcelona midfield legend Andres Iniesta’s game slowly dwindling, Di Maria could successfully replace the Spaniard, using his skills, pace, and quality of vision, which he has shown oh-so-often at United as well as PSG.
Arda Turan, on the other hand, like Diego Costa, has been linked to the Chinese Super League. After having joined from Atletico Madrid in 2015 for £24 million, he has yet been unable to seal a spot in the first team.
Written by Srivats Venkateswaran 
Sports writer with a long experience of writing in football.Was football team head at EssentiallySports. Still deeply misses Sir Alex and Berbatov at United. An introvert at heart with a poetic hand. Engineer by choice, writer by passion.