Man United Want Real Madrid’s Argentine Ace as Nani Replacement – Report

Manchester United are believed to have identified a possible replacement for attacking midfielder Nani in Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria.

The Metro understands that Sir Alex Ferguson is prepared to allow Nani to leave in the summer as the Portugal international has begun to fall out-of-favour and is no longer considered first choice on either wing.

Ashley Young and Anotnio Valencia appear the preferred option, although reports in Portugal suggest that he will attempt to persuade Di Maria to make the move to Old Trafford in order to provide Ferguson with yet more strength in his squad.

The Argentina international has a huge successl since joining Real Madrid from Benfica in the summer of 2010. He may not be able to match the goal return of his fellow winger, and former United star, Cristiano Ronaldo but he has consistently achieved more than double figures in terms of assists.

Last season he finishing the campaign with five league goals and 15 assists as he helped Real Madrid overhaul Barcelona in order to win the La Liga title.

However, despite featuring in almost every league game this season Di Maria has been consistently hauled off before the end of games and has seemingly taken the blame from Jose Mourinho on a number of occasions when his side have lost.

It is believed that Di Maria would be available for around £20million which may well suit Manchester United as the winger is still just 24-years-old and has proven himself consistently in Spain and in European competition.

Manchester United will also be hoping that they can bring in a similar fee for Nani who was said to be the subject of a £25million offer from Zenit St Petersburg before the Russian club signed Axel Witsel and striker Hulk for a combined €80m.

Nani has missed a number of games through injury of late but it is expected that there will still be plenty of interest from a number of European clubs including Zenit and mega-rich Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.