“But I wasn’t even in Turkey, boss.”
And so ends the great good alright average bad disastrous Memphis Depay experiment.
The Dutch winger has been an unmitigated disaster since joining Manchester United in the summer of 2015. He arrived at Old Trafford from PSV Eindhoven amid much fanfare – a powerful, fast and tricky winger with a penchant for free kicks, he was seen as just the player to inject a little oomph into Louis vab Gaal’s attack.
We learned all about the difficult upbringing that meant he wore ‘Memphis’ on his shirt instead of his father’s name, we saw pictures of his admittedly deadly dog and we became well informed of his fleet of luxury cars.
So far, so Galactico.
Then he started playing.
People noticed his powerful build was not in keeping with that of your standard international class speedy winger. Looking more like a middleweight boxer, the 22-year-old was struggling to beat players and frequently looked punch drunk when afforded opportunities in front of goal.
Depay made 23 starts, scoring five goals, under his fellow Dutchman last season but has been all but frozen out under Jose Mourinho. His only start this term came against Northampton Town in the League Cup and was suitably underwhelming. Other than that he has racked up 71 minutes in six substitute appearances.
Being left at home for Thursday’s Europa League loss to Fenerbahce may have seemed like a blessing when Mourinho was laying into his players, but the Saturday papers suggest it was a sign that the Portuguese has given up on Depay.
The Guardian and The Daily Mail both report that the Dutch international will be leaving in January, with the former, ironically, suggesting Fenerbahce as a potential destination.
After Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder, Depay will be following in the proud Dutch tradition of winding up your career in Turkey, however in his case it could be at the grand old age of 22.
Of course, Depay is just one log in a pile of dead wood Mourinho is looking to get shot of, with The Sun and The Daily Telegraph both reporting on the Crazy Eight that Manchester United are looking to shift in January.
The Sun. November 5.#frontpage #primapagina #portada #backpage #football #sports pic.twitter.com/smS7u73PNZ
— Tijani Goullet AD (@TijaniGoulletAD) November 4, 2016
“Defenders Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian and Phil Jones will be allowed to leave as will midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Michael Carrick,” report the Telegraph. “Wingers Memphis Depay and Ashley Young are also surplus to requirements.”
Mourinho has no problem conducting his dirty business in public and when almost every reporter on the beat has the same information, you can take it for granted it is coming from a good source.
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