Manchester United plan transfer swoop for £12million Argentine ace

Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to swoop for Argentine star Angel Di Maria - and finally fill the gap left by Cristiano Ronaldo's departure.

The Manchester United chief is set to watch 21-year-old Di Maria in action against Everton tonight to make one final check on him ahead of a potential £12million transfer-window deal.

Angel Di Maria profile: 10 things you need to know plus video of him in action

Ferguson's spies have been tracking the speedy and skillful South American for months, but they went onto red alert when he tortured David Moyes's men in the Europa League a fortnight ago.

United are all too aware that they have missed Ronaldo's speed and goals since he left Old Trafford and Di Maria is probably the best successor around for him in terms of pace and trickery.

Di Maria also comes highly recommended by Argentina coach Diego Maradona, who has promoted him to his full team after he scored the goal that secured gold for his country at last year's Beijing Olympics.

The only question about Di Maria is whether he is strong enough to take the kind of tackles that Ronaldo had to suffer and Ferguson thinks a cold night at Goodison is a good place to judge him.

Di Maria is quick and wiry, but quite slim and that physical dimension to his game is the part under scrutiny by United's spying staff who are under pressure to get this one right.

United have spent heavily on wide men by recruiting Nani and the disastrous Zoran Tosic. Those failures have meant that the sale of Ronaldo has been felt acutely.

Di Maria plays down the left but can also operate on the right. He would be the perfect foil for hard-working Antonio Valencia on the other flank.

Benfica are wealthy and bought Di Maria from Argentine side Rosario Central for £7m. They will want a big profit on him and are happy that other Premier League clubs - including Chelsea - are interested, too.

However, United have the Ronaldo cash in their kitty and the need to find a replacement for the rest of the season. As an added bonus, Di Maria could play for them in the Champions League as he has not featured in the competition.