Ronald Koeman’s explicit admission of an interest in Memphis Depay has not gone down well with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.
While Depay doesn’t appear to be a key figure in Mourinho’s plans at Old Trafford, he still maintains that no player of his should be discussed by an opposition manager as that will only serve to unsettle.
During the international break, Everton boss Koeman was asked about the rumours linking him with out-of-favour Dutch winger Depay and he didn’t exactly shirk the question.
“If there is any possibility of course I am interested. I was interested when I was manager of Southampton,” Koeman said.
Depay has flattered to deceive since making the move to the Premier League from PSV Eindhoven last summer and it’s understood that the 22-year-old would be open to a loan move in January, with the hope of starting anew via a subsequent permanent move.
But Mourinho sounds altogether unimpressed that his player has become the subject of overt interest from a fellow manager.
“I prefer not to make… I prefer not to make. I think my normal answer if somebody asks me about a player from another team, my normal answer is the player is not my player, the player belongs to another team, the player belongs to another manager, no comments at all,” Mourinho said on Friday.
“I think that is the ethical answer and when we are always worried about ethics and respect, and rules, I just said that if it was me making those comments about an Everton player, I would be in trouble.”
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