Argentina manager, Gerardo Martino has admitted that midfielder, Ángel Di María is suffering from a dip in form since his initial move to Manchester United.

Speaking ahead of Argentina’s friendly with Portugal in Old Trafford, which Di María is expected to start, Martino told the press:

“I have to say that Ángel is one of the very top players in world football. His start was exceptional and the fact that generally when players go to a new club and have to get used to a new league, a new team, a different style of football and different teammates, I think the form that he is showing now is possibly more typical of a player going to a new club than the very first few games when he burst onto the scene and did so well.”

It is certainly true that in the first few matches, Di María was United’s star player but has since seen this level of performance drop off as Louis van Gaal has been forced to shift his position in various systems.

Martino though was quick to praise El Fideo for his versatility to play in many different roles.

“With regards to his position, I would say that Ángel is the type of player who can play a number of different roles expertly. You only have to look a few seasons back when he played on the right side for Real Madrid and in the season just gone, he featured more on the inside-left in a slighter freer role. Obviously, in the World Cup, he did very well when he played wide left so really, in terms of positioning, he can adapt to anywhere where the manager asks him to play.”

This is certainly true and over the course of the season, Manchester United supporters and Louis van Gaal will remain confident that they will see the best out of their record £59.7 million transfer.

While the recent drop in form is not cause for concern in Manchester, the media appear to have been trying to make something of Di María’s comments this week over his failed move to Paris St Germain.

Di María said, “PSG, I think they had a money problem and they couldn’t buy players. This is the main reason I didn’t go there. Playing in the French league would please a lot of players.”

“Now I’m in the English league. But you never know, there is a lot of movement in football. You can never predict where you’re going to play. There were a lot of clubs interested in me. A lot, really. But Manchester United appeared and didn’t go away. They absolutely wanted me and it happened.”

“It could have been a good experience for me to go to Paris. I know I’m still young, perhaps I’ll go to PSG one day. I don’t know how it will all end.”

It is worth noting that despite these suggestions that the player was still interested in playing in France, Di María did stress that he was happy in Manchester and held no regrets over leaving Madrid.

“It’s a different style of football here at Manchester United. I’m very happy. I don’t have regrets about leaving Real Madrid. I think I won everything I wanted with Real: La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa Del Rey.”

For now there are certainly no causes for concern but there is a degree of pressure on Manchester United to get back into the Champions League if they are to satisfy the likes of Di María.