Silva lining for Di Maria and PSG

Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva believes Angel Di Maria’s arrival will bring “more confidence to the team”.

Di Maria completed his protracted switch to the Ligue 1 champions for a reported fee of €63 million after a disappointing season at Manchester United.

Silva is confident the Argentina international will make a positive impact at the Parc des Princes and strengthen Laurent Blanc’s already-formidable squad.

“I think he will bring more confidence to the team and do what he can,” he told the club’s official website.

“This is a player who always manages to create danger. He does not hesitate to carry the ball. He has many qualities and will help us a lot. With him we are even stronger than last season.”

PSG opened the defence of their league title last Friday with a battling 1-0 win at Lille, a result made even more impressive due to the 28th-minute dismissal of midfielder Adrien Rabiot.

Silva added: “When an incident like that happens, the experience of the players is very important because with 10, if you panic, it becomes difficult to manage a game.

“With players of quality and experience there with us I think the team managed the game well.”

PSG meet newly-promoted Gazalec Ajaccio at the weekend with the Brazil international admitting it represents a step into the unknown.

“This will be a very difficult game because we do not know this team,” he said. “They could therefore cause us problems. But if we focus as we did against Lille, I think it will be fine.”