Although Angel di Maria’s World Cup is over, after suffering what looks to be a hamstring injury, his career at Real Madrid should not.

Speculation has recently been mounting that the UEFA Champions League holders will look to offload the versatile player to raise funds for a potential move for James Rodriguez. The Colombian prodigy has no doubt been the revelation at this years’ World Cup and has consequently caught the eye of a number of big European clubs – Real Madrid happens to be one of them.

Rodriguez himself has already fuelled speculation that he would like to play in La Liga for the Spanish giants in the future.

“It would be a dream to play there, it is the best league in the world. I prefer Real Madrid to Barcelona”.

Di Maria’s future has become uncertain ever since Gareth Bale’s record transfer move from Tottenham Hotspur last year. The Argentine initially struggled to feature in Coach Carlo Ancelotti’s plans, but a tactical switch saw the Italian employ a 4-3-3 system with Di Maria adapting to an attacking midfield role – to great effect.

However, di Maria feels the club do not value him as highly as other members in the squad, testament to his lower salary and often unjustly criticism received from the Spanish media. Although, Los Blancos have not publicly stated their intent on selling one of their star players it does render him surplus to requirements, by refusing to confirm his future at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Di Maria’s price tag is believed to be estimated at £40 million should a club bid for his services.

While James Rodriguez would be an excellent addition to any side particularly Real Madrid it should not be at di Maria’s expense. Real Madrid already have immense attacking quality at their disposal. Not to mention youngster Jese Rodriguez is yet to return from an ACL injury.

Di Maria is an asset to this Madrid side and was instrumental in Madrid’s successful run in the Champions League and Copa del Rey. If it is true that the club do not hold him in high regard, a huge regret will inevitably be made. Yes Madrid have the funds to purchase anyone they like, James Rodriguez per se and the fact that it has not stopped them in the past. But with di Maria it is different, he is irreplaceable.

Not only is the frenetic attacker world-class going forward, causing havoc for defenders with his pacey runs. Di Maria also has a brilliant defensive work rate something anonymous in most attackers. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is probably the biggest culprit for not tracking back to help his teammates out. The Belgian’s inability to offer support for his defenders has accordingly garnered wide-spread condemnation for this flaw in what otherwise is a supreme footballer.

Di Maria however thrives on challenging opposing attackers and often his relentless closing down and high pressing forces opponents into mistakes. He may not tackle like a centre-back, but he does not have to because of his hounding approach. Coach Ancelotti is also aware of this attribute as he offers another dimension to what already is a star-studded squad.

Statistically speaking this was the former Benfica man’s most productive season with 11 goals and an incredible 26 assists in all competitions. Removing the swashbuckling di Maria will ultimately remove goals and more importantly laying assists to both Ronaldo and Bale. Di Maria during the season did state he was happy to play anywhere and it was this enthusiasm that instilled confidence and a sense of swagger into the side.

As alluded to earlier the Argentine’s presence was insurmountable in the two most important matches of the 2013/14 season. When Ronaldo was absent through injury for the Copa del Rey Final against Barcelona someone had to step up. While Gareth Bale scored a sublime individual goal, di Maria was arguably the man-of-the-match and incidentally scored the first to take the lead.

Fast forward to the Champions League Final in Lisbon and it was di Maria who ran the show too. His tireless performance was appreciated by Los Merengues fans, who many attribute the reason why they won the unprecedented La Decima.

Di Maria would walk into any starting eleven in Europe and would easily justify a big money move. £40 million would certainly be a bargain – when you consider players who should not be mentioned in the same breath as di Maria have recently moved for ridiculous fees such as £25 and £30 million.

Despite Real Madrid’s interest in securing James Rodriguez, Los Blancos must be wise and intrust their faith into the pacey winger. A more rational priority would be to potentially acquire another striker or improve their defensive ranks instead of overloading their attack which boasts players such as Ronaldo and Bale. Because at the moment Real Madrid are acting like a child in a toy shop asking their parents to get any toy they see, in this case James Rodriguez in the transfer market.