Angel Di Maria arrives at Manchester United's Carrington training ground ahead of £59.7million move from Real Madrid

Angel Di Maria arrives at Manchester United's Carrington training ground ahead of book

Manchester United hope to formally announce the signing of Angel di Maria on Tuesday after agreeing terms on a British record transfer fee of £59.7million plus add ons with Real Madrid.

United officials held meetings with their Real Madrid counterparts on Sunday evening and resumed talks on Monday as they bartered down the £75million asking price.

The scale of the extra fees due from United will depend on performances and the prospect of Di Maria winning the Ballon D'Or.

The Argentina international posed with fans at Madrid airport on Monday afternoon prior to flying into Manchester on a private plane to meet up with United manager Louis Van Gaal late last night.

Van Gaal had been at Carrington overseeing the first team squad's 4pm warm-down session and training ahead of tonight's Capital One Cup second round tie at MK Dons.

Di Maria's arrival will give the club a welcome lift following a disappointing start to the season that has delivered just one point from their opening two Premier League games but there is concern that his signing, as stellar as it is, fails to address United's real needs and Van Gaal is pressing the club to deliver two more players over the coming days.

Ajax utility player Daley Blind and Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal are among those being considered.

Madrid are also agreeing terms over United right-back Guillermo Varela. The 21-year-old Uruguayan only joined United a year ago from Penarol but will move to Real Madrid's B team Castilla to play under Zinedine Zidane. The deal is likely to be a loan with a view to a permanent £3million transfer.

Di Maria will join up with his new United teammates at training on Thursday and the club hope to formalise his work permit and registration by 12noon Friday if he is to figure against Burnley on Saturday.

A work permit, however, has yet to be arranged for his compatriot Marcos Rojo with the Bank Holiday helping to delay the process.

Di Maria, hailed as the best player in Spain, 'surpassing even Lionel Messi' according to former Argentina coach Cesar Luis Menotti, has at least got United supporters excited. 

A need for more such names is underlined by the fact United face MK Dons tonight in the Capital One second round without seven first-team players. Chris Smalling has joined Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini, Jesse Lingard and Rafael da Silva on the sidelines.

Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez and Shinji Kagawa are set to be involved from the start, with youngsters Reece James and James Wilson also in contention to play. Juventus have made an enquiry about the availability of Hernandez after Arsenal stalled on the proposed loan of Lukas Podolski.

Welbeck remains a target for other clubs with Everton, Tottenham, Newcastle and Sunderland rivalled by Turkish club Galatasaray.