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Sport 19 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 27 AUGUST 2014 UNITED confirmed the signing of the Argentina winger on Tuesday after he completed a medical. United have paid £59.7million for the former Benfica player, who has signed a five-year contract with his new club. The fee eclipses the previous Brit- ish transfer record of £50million, which Chelsea paid for Fernando Torres in 2011. It also exceeds the £37.1million sum United paid for Juan Mata in January. Di Maria said: "I am absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester United. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Spain and there were a lot of clubs interested in me, but United is the only club that I would have left Real Madrid for. "Louis van Gaal is a fantastic coach with a proven track record of success and I am impressed by the vision and determination everyone has to get this club back to the top - where it belongs. I now just cannot wait to get started." The 26-year-old, who cost Real around £28million when they signed him from Benfica in 2010, is regarded as one of the best attack- ing midfielders in the world. His signing is a statement of intent from new manager Van Gaal too. "Angel is a world-class midfielder but most importantly he is a team player. There is no doubting his im- mense natural talent," he said. "He is a tremendously fast and incisive left-footed player who puts fear into the most accomplished defence. His dribbling skills and his ability to take on and beat op- ponents are a joy to watch. He is an excellent addition to the team." The Argentinian won the man of the match award for his role in Real Madrid's victory over Atletico Ma- drid in the Champions League final last season. He also made the most assists (17) in the Spanish league last season. The £71million summer signing of James Rodriguez lessened Di Maria's chances of first-team foot- ball at the Bernabeu, however, and Madrid decided to cash in on the player, whose value increased fol- lowing a successful World Cup in Brazil, where he helped Argentina reach the final. Paris St Germain were the early front runners for Di Maria's signa- ture, but they pulled out of the race to sign the midfielder after failing to agree a fee with the European champions. It will be interesting to see how Van Gaal attempts to slot Di Maria into his starting XI. There seems no natural place for Di Maria in the 3-4-1-2 formation Van Gaal has used since he took over at Old Trafford. The Dutchman has a plethora of options for the number 10 role, so Di Maria could be converted into a striker, or he could be deployed deeper in midfield. Another alternative is switching United to a 4-3-3 system with Di Maria as one of the front three, with Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Rob- in van Persie - among others - vying for the two remaining places. United's summer spending total now stands at over £130million fol- lowing the signing of Di Maria. Marcos Rojo (£50million), Luke Shaw (£28million) and Ander Her- rera (£29million) have already joined the club, and more signings are expected before the transfer window shuts on Monday night. Daley Blind, Arturo Vidal and Kevin Strootman are understood to be on United's radar. But the club have reservations over the state of Vidal's right knee, which was operated on in May, and Roma's Strootman is also recover- ing from a serious knee injury. Blind, whom Van Gaal knows well from his time with the Dutch national side, has been told he can leave Ajax if United make an ac- ceptable offer. As of yet, no bid has been made for the Ajax utility man, according to his representative Rob Jansen. Press Association Sport under- stands that contrary to reports, United are not interested in signing Nigel de Jong from AC Milan. ''At this moment Manchester United have not been in touch with me or Ajax about Daley and I'm not sitting here waiting for the call,'' Jansen told talkSPORT. A host of departures are also ex- pected before the window shuts. Up to 12 players could depart, chief among them striker Danny Welbeck. Marouane Fellaini was expected to leave, but an ankle injury appears to have scuppered his chances of signing for Napoli. Javier Hernandez, Shinji Kagawa and Anderson are among a long list of names with question marks hanging over their futures. SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Di Maria joins Manchester United for British transfer record fee Argentina midfielder Angel Di Maria has left Real Madrid to join Manchester United for a British transfer record of £59.7 million Angel di Maria with his new coach Louis van Gaal Eto'o pens Everton deal Everton have announced the signing of Samuel Eto'o on a two-year deal on a free transfer THE 33-year-old striker was released by Chelsea at the end of last season and had been linked with Everton's Merseyside rivals Liverpool before they sealed a surprise deal for Mario Balotelli. Toffees boss Roberto Martinez then stepped in to add the Cameroon international to a forward line that is led by another Stamford Bridge re- cruit in Romelu Lukaku. The former Barcelona player scored 12 goals for Chelsea last sea- son, including a hat-trick against Manchester United, but saw his rela- tionship with Jose Mourinho placed in the spotlight when the Portuguese questioned his age in leaked footage from a French television interview. He could now make his Everton debut against Mourinho and his former team-mates, with the sides due to meet at Goodison Park on Saturday. Martinez had been on the lookout for experienced options up front, with Arouna Kone's long-term lay- off leaving him short of cover. "I met him and we had a very good chat about football in general and I was impressed about the hunger he still has," Martinez told Everton's of- ficial website. "For someone who has achieved nearly everything, he still has the desire he had at 15 when he went to Spain and showed what he could do. For many reasons he has got a point to prove. "We are very excited and I think Everton is the perfect home for him. The fans will make him ready and feel sharp but we have got to be a bit patient with the fitness levels and make sure he is back to his best." Eto'o - Cameroon's record goal- scorer - claims that Martinez was a key reason behind his decision to sign for Everton. "I am very happy to be here, I am looking forward greatly to putting on the Blue shirt of Everton," he said. "I have been very impressed by the style of play Everton adopt. I could see straight away that at this club I will have the opportunity to play football. I had the chance to speak with the manager over the last few days and we agreed that this was what we would do. "I was impressed with his enthu- siasm but also by the knowledge of football that Roberto Martinez car- ries, his vision of football and how he reads football. I still think I can learn a great deal from him here." Samuel Eto'o