Memphis Depay seeking a transfer from Lyon. Could a second chance at Old Trafford work for him?

Former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay has reportedly issued a come and get me plea with supposed interest from Premier League side Everton and La Liga side Barcelona this summer. The Dutchman seems to be a much changed player following his 18-month spell at United which started under the reign of Louis van Gaal and ended under the reign of Jose Mourinho about six months into the Portuguese managers spell at the club, which also ended in tears, like his predecessor.

Lyon reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals last season and were beaten 3-0 by the eventual champions, Bayern Munich. During the 2019/20 season, despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic ended up cancelling the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 seasons in France, Depay made a total of 22 appearances, scoring 15 goals and two assists. It was a standout season for the Dutchman He played his first match for his club during the 2020/21 season against Dijon on Friday, scoring a hat-trick in the 4-1 victory.

Before United signed Depay, he was playing for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands and made a total of 124 appearances, scoring 50 goals and 29 assists, which is the reason he was signed by Van Gaal in the summer of 2015 but it did not work for him at United with just 53 appearances, scoring seven goals and six assists, which was poor considering what he had achieved in the Netherlands. At Lyon, he had made a total of 139 appearances, scoring 57 goals and 43 assists. Depay spoke to the media after Friday’s victory over Dijon with The Sun quoting him as saying:

“I do not see the future, I do not know if I will do the full season here. I have been here for four years, I became captain.

“After you have to look at your career, there is no Champions League. At the moment I don’t know. I’m really happy to have scored three goals today.

“It wasn’t the best game I’ve played but we start the season with three points, and that’s the most important thing.”

I liked Depay as a player when he signed for United. He seemed to be the missing piece at the time, based on his performances, goals and assists whilst at PSV and the fact that he was the defining player in their league title for the 2014/15 season. However, despite this he hugely faltered at United and became a player that was more frustrated than anything else. The playing style of the club was not the greatest and not to Depay’s strengths, which might have been the main problem.

When Mourinho arrived at the club, Depay already had a mark over him and for a new manager, it meant that if it did not work, he was likely to be moved on quickly, which is what happened. In January 2017, Mourinho allowed the player to be sold to Lyon for £16 million, which could rise to £21.7 million according to the Telegraph. His contract in France ends in the summer of 2021, so this will be the clubs last major chance to get some money for him with him able to sign a pre-contract agreement for a foreign club from January.

Could Depay be a player that United could utilise under the management of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? Granted, the 26-year-old would fit into the attack dominated playing style and his pace and ability would be seen as a positive but with the performances of Anthony Martial (23 goals, 12 assists), Marcus Rashford (22 goals, 10 assists) and Mason Greenwood (17 goals, five assists) I doubt that he would be anything other than a squad player under Solskjaer. It would have been good to see him succeed at United but it did not happen, probably for the reasons stated and could see him fail again.

Written by John Walker

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I support Manchester United, the greatest English football team to have ever existed. Bruno Fernandes is the latest in a long line of players with great ability to play for the club. I idolised Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Eric Cantona growing up.