According to reports from The Guardian yesterday evening, PSG are preparing a ‘formal’ £47million bid for Manchester United star Angel Di Maria.
The Argentina international is the most expensive signing in Red Devils and Premier League history, arriving at Old Trafford last summer for a record-breaking £59.7million.
His United tenure started well with a spate of match-winning performances – typified by his deft lob against Leicester City, which won the Premier League’s Goal of the Month award for September.
But the 27 year-old struggled more as the season went on and eventually found himself benched by Louis van Gaal, failing to make a league start after United’s clash with Newcastle in early March.
The Daily Mail claim United would be willing to sell if the right offer came along this summer, with Arsenal emerging as shock suitors for the Albiceleste winger last week. Gunners gaffer Arsene Wenger is reportedly a huge fan.
>>>Stay up to date with all the official Premier League Ins and Outs!<<<
But whilst the north London outfit are still some distance away from transforming their interest into an actual bid, The Guardian claim long-term admirers PSG are on the verge of launching a concrete offer.
The Ligue 1 champions attempted to sign Di Maria from former employers Real Madrid last summer, only for Financial Fair Play regulations to stand in the way. They’ve since been relaxed by UEFA, allowing Laurent Blanc to target top class players of the United outcast’s variety once again.
The Parc de Princes boss has recently told journalists regarding Di Maria; “Yes, I like him very much. But at our level, trying to improve your team, you are competing for players who belong to big clubs. And, even if one club has more money, you are not competing alone in the market.
“We have more freedom [in the market] but it remains a difficult one for us to do because we’re not alone in wanting him. The competition is very, very tough. Don’t forget Manchester United paid a fortune to sign him. The decision to relax FFP regulations was favourable to PSG but it happened late in the day. Now it has, new avenues are open to us for recruitment. We fell behind but we’ll catch up.”
How Arsenal will respond to news of PSG preparing a sizable bid remains to be seen.