Angel Di Maria needs time to adapt to Premier League, says Louis van Gaal

Angel Di Maria was substituted at half-time and Louis van Gaal believes he needs time

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal says Angel Di Maria will need a boost of confidence to become the player he was. Di Maria, who was taken off by the Dutchman at half time in the match against Sunderland, was replaced by Adnan Januzaj in the 2-0 victory, where Januzaj ended up assisting Wayne Rooney for his second goal.

Van Gaal later revealed that taking the Argentine winger out at half-time was a tactical switch, and says he has to work on boosting the 27-year-old’s confidence to get the best out of his £59.7 million summer signing.

“Di Maria needs time to adapt to the Premier League”

The 63-year old manager said, "He is going forward but I want to win as a manager. I have to observe and analyse and I have to take the steps that are necessary and I always thought in theory that I could change Angel for Januzaj and then we were in the second half better so I cannot say it was a bad decision.”

"The difficulty is that the players have to adapt to the Premier League. I have explained already the rhythm of the game is so high, much higher than in other countries and he has to adapt to the culture so we have to give him time and lift his confidence again, that's also important.”

"He is also a human being like me and you and you can make mistakes but he is a top sportsman. So he shall overcome this period."