Get the day's biggest United stories delivered straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Real Madrid are bracing themselves for a United swoop for Angel Di Maria.

The Champions League winners are in action tomorrow in the Supercopa in Spain against rivals Atletico Madrid and the 26-year-old Argentine World Cup player is in the squad.

But Real’s coach Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t know whether the right winger will still be at the Bernabeu by the end of the summer transfer window.

In his press conference ahead of the first leg game against Atletico Ancelotti said: “I’m not entering into the issue Di Maria, because I’ll lose focus on the game.

“I do not know what he has decided, I just know that he is ready to play, and until August 31 will be here in principle.

“If from there he stays or is no longer, we will think about it later.”

The door is clearly open for the Reds to pursue manager Louis van Gaal’s big target, with Ancelotti failing to slap any kind of ‘not for sale’ sign on the South American.

With Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and new summer recruits Toni Kroos and James Rodriquez available to Ancelotti, Di Maria is feeling the heat.

Having won the Champions League last may in Lisbon, he will have to consider the fact United do not have that Euro platform on offer this season.

Paris Saint Germain were linked with Di Maria but pulled out of the running due to concerns over getting the wrong side of the Financial Fair Play rules because of Real’s £50m valuation.

The Reds are still ploughing through the difficult transfer of Di Maria’s fellow Argentine Marcos Rojo.

The defender’s third party ownership is a financial complication at Sporting Lisbon’s end but United are confident they will get there and land the 24-year-old.

Meanwhile Arturo Vidal, who has been linked with United all summer, is eager to play again after the World Cup and his Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri believes the Italians will keep him.

“Arturo’s spirits are very high. It’s only normal that there is speculation about him. Big clubs are always looking for big players, but Vidal is already at a big club,” he said.

United still haven’t made an official move for Ajax’s left-back-cum-wing-back Daley Blind.

The 24-year-old was part of van Gaal’s Holland squad at the World Cup and his father was one of the United manager’s sidekicks in Brazil.

Ajax boss Frank de Boer accepts a big money bid would land Blind - and that would be the kind of business, for a player he knows so well, Van Gaal reckons could be wrapped up in 24 hours as he told the press last Friday.

United faced Madrid on their American tour... see the pictures here: