This season has been a total roller coaster for Manchester United and their fans and going from joy to shame in a blink of an eye and with several issues such as the team’s recent struggles and mediocre performances is something that should be discussed.
One of those major issues that just can’t be overlooked, is the poor performance of some key pieces of the team and some recent signings, such as the irregularity of Paul Pogba, the non-existent playing time for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the offensive slump of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the mediocre level shown by last year’s biggest signing Memphis Depay, and today, we’ll take a deeper look to this last predicament.
The Dutch arrived at Old Trafford after being the top scorer of the Eredivisie, netting 28 scores and adding 8 assists in 40 games through the 2014 – 2015 season for PSV Eindhoven. This kind of numbers, along with the established rapport between him and the former United boss Louis Van Gaal, convinced the Glazers to spend €30 million in acquiring the young winger, who started the season at a superb level.
However, his performances were getting more and more lousy as the season went through, and he was finally axed by the dutch manager and even now, he has failed to impress Jose Mourinho during the preseason or the few minutes he’s been able to be on the pitch for the Red Devils. So, the inevitable question we should be asking right now is: Should Manchester United sell Memphis Depay?
At first sight, the answer to that question could be yes, as there’s no convincing Jose Mourinho once he has made his mind about a player, and there are very few chances that Depay will get playing time under the Portuguese that has already put another starlet, Jesse Lingard, ahead of him in his team’s rotation.
On top of that, the big investment made in Anthony Martial and Zlatan’s salary make very unlikely that Depay could earn a steady starting job unless there are some major injuries for Mourinho’s side.
However, given the poor performances that Memphis has had during most of his United tenure, it’s not very likely that Manchester United could make an actual profit in selling him, as they won’t get nothing close to the value that they paid for the dutch winger.
Having said that, the best option for the youngster’s future would be a loan to another team with lower expectations, where he’ll get the minutes he needs while taking a lot of pressure from his shoulders, so he can reconnect himself with that fine offensive touch that made him one of the most intriguing prospects a couple of years ago.
It’s really early in Memphis’s career to say that he was a dud or a one year wonder, as many great players struggle to adapt to a great tournament as the English Premier League, and there’s no doubt that the youngster has a lot of talent and skills to prove himself, as he just needs time and playing opportunities to regain his long lost confidence.