Reports coming out of Spain are suggesting that Barcelona could be lining up an audacious bid for Manchester United’s Angel Di Maria.

Talks over a potential switch are said to be at a very early stage, with Barcelona yet to contact United directly about their proposed interest. However it is thought that Barcelona want to ‘bolster their front line’.

Di Maria moved to Manchester United for an English record fee of £59.7m last summer, and it has to be said that the Argentine has not had the best of starts to life at Old Trafford.

Di Maria’s transfer to United came with so much anticipation and excitement. Unfortunately, his time at Old Trafford has been bitterly disappointing. Although the Argentine started off brilliantly, his form very quickly dipped, the reasoning for this could be debated for hours.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, he managed 10 assists for United last season, one of the highest tallies in the league, but this has been overshadowed by his clear lack of effort and his inconsistency. Like many, I thought Di Maria could’ve done a lot more in his first season at United, however, I’m extremely confident he will come good should he stay on.

Earlier this month, Di Maria spoke out about his intent to stay at Old Trafford, despite reports linking him with a move away.

“It was a hard season for me.”

“I think it was hard because it was another country and another league, and this league is harder than the Spanish one. So, I couldn’t adapt myself as I wanted to.”

“Now I will play the Copa America and then I will move back to Manchester for next season and do my best there.”

The reports linking Di Maria to Barcelona are surely false. It is quite literally the strangest piece of transfer gossip to come out this summer. Not only do Barcelona have a transfer embargo to overcome, they also have one of the most formidable front lines ever seen in Messi, Suarez and Neymar. Quite why they would want Di Maria, or moreover why Di Maria would want to move there (to sit on the bench) will remain a mystery.