Manchester City are ready to trump Chelsea and Manchester United for Benfica star Angel di Maria.

The Sunday Times says City have opened talks with Benfica over the availability of the Portuguese club’s much-coveted winger Angel di Maria. The left-sided Argentine international is seen as a direct replacement for Robinho, who has been assiduously courted by Barcelona and is eager to return to Spanish football whenever City approve a transfer.

Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira met City officials in Liverpool on Thursday before his club’s Europa League victory over Everton. Though Benfica will resist selling Di Maria during a season in which they hold a realistic chance of regaining the Portuguese title for the first time in five years, they will encourage suitors in the summer.

Di Maria, whose transfer rights are 20% owned by a third-party investment fund, is valued by the club at more than £27m. At 21, the player has established himself in Argentina’s World Cup squad, having scored an audacious winning goal in the final of the 2008 Olympic tournament.