What has happened to poor Memphis Depay since leaving PSV Eindhoven for Manchester United 17 months ago is anyone’s guess, with the Red Devils nursing burnt fingers after shelling out £26m for the young Dutchman.
Remarkably, the 22-year-old is yet to lay on an assist in a Man Utd shirt, having provided 12 in his two full Eredivise campaigns, and scored just twice in 29 Premier League appearances last season, 16 of which were starts.
Those numbers are too bad to be true from a player who notched 34 times in 62 games in the Dutch top-flight, with five strikes in 11 European matches during his first term in England no consolation considering four came against Club Brugge and FC Midtylland.
Showing dominance when faced with such minnows of the continent wasn’t what Memphis was bought to do, with new boss Jose Mourinho clearly taking a dim view of his charge’s talents, affording the wide-forward just one start so far away to Northampton in the EFL Cup.
Things may be looking up though, with perennial Serie A champions Juventus keeping Memphis on ice as a back-up plan should they fail to sign out-of-favour Real Madrid schemer James Rodriguez when the transfer window reopens, according to The Sun.
Colombia’s finest has been in and out of Los Blancos’ side since Zinedine Zidane took charge last January and might need a change after starting just twice in La Liga this season, with his last appearance from the off coming in the 7-1 Cope del Rey defeat of Deportivo Leonesa last month.
James Rodriguez doesn’t appear to fit into Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid masterplanHowever, James could cost as much as £75m to sign permanently, the red top reckons, while Memphis might be available on loan considering his desperate current plight.
Everton are also rumoured to be interested, with boss Ronald Koeman keen on reuniting with a player he developed while in charge at the Philips Stadion.
Juventus are 10/1 joint-fourth favourites to win the Champions League this season.
