Prior to making his £31million move to Manchester United this summer, 21-year-old Memphis Depay was clearly marked out as one of the most exciting attacking talents of his generation.
A successful season in the Dutch Eredivise with PSV Eindhoven was subsequently achieved by the front-man before Louis van Gaal eventually saw fit to bring his young compatriot to Old Trafford.
However, as life among the ever testing English top-flight often proves tough for even the most highly coveted names in world football, the Netherlands international has nevertheless failed to give a full account of himself in the Premier League thus far.
Manchester United have already seen a great deal of money wasted in the transfer market recently, thanks to the respective downfalls of both Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria on these here shores. Louis van Gaal therefore can’t be held accountable for many more expensive slip-ups if he wants to maintain his impressive reputation among the European managerial scene.
So then, has Memphis Depay ultimately proved the Red Devils’ biggest disappointment so far this season?
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The answer could well be, yes. Despite arriving in the Premier League with one of the strongest reputations we’ve seen from someone of his age, Memphis really hasn’t been effective enough this term to warrant such a hefty price tag. £31million for an untested asset like Depay has to go down as yet another crazy gamble at Old Trafford in recent years, especially as the Manchester United hierarchy also saw fit to land Anthony Martial on a very similar deal this summer.
Whilst the 19-year-old Frenchman has in-fact impressed so far this campaign though, the same simply can’t be said of Memphis Depay. The Dutch attacker – who few had admittedly heard of before he emerged with Holland at the 2014 World Cup – may have amounted four goals already to his name this season, but as all but one of them have come outside the Premier League, it remains fair to say that Depay has underperformed so far.
He hasn’t proved entirely creative in the final third this season, his link-up play with the rest of his Manchester United teammates has often left a lot to be desired, and some games have simply passed him by this term without the youngster managing to register much of an impact at all. Whilst he hasn’t been the only high profile Manchester United player to fail to produce the goods this season, £31million is ultimately looking like a truly extortionate amount for the former PSV man at this stage in the proceedings.
However, perhaps the English footballing community in general – including writers of certain articles such as this one – may be getting a tad carried away at this admittedly early stage in Memphis Depay’s Premier League career. As he remains a mere 21-years-of-age at the moment, Manchester United’s latest Dutch sensation is arguably progressing at just the rate you would expect with all things considered.
The modern game has certainly become somewhat impatient in its approach with emerging talents these days – especially among the English top-flight where the concept of immediate success has somehow risen above the need to develop young players and turn them into the stars they were always meant to be. Surely it’s the manager’s job to get his players firing out on the pitch – and as things currently stand for Manchester United’s main man in the dug-out – Louis van Gaal is probably content with the way Memphis has adapted to his new surroundings so far.
The 2015/16 campaign still has a long way to go of course, and it simply wouldn’t arrive as an out-in-out shock to see Depay finally reach his true potential as the season begins to play out further.
Ultimately then, Manchester United have once again been ripped-off heavily in the transfer market via their £31million capture of the Dutch international – that much goes without saying. Memphis has so far failed to portray a player worth anywhere near the kind of money in the Premier League, but that doesn’t mean he won’t improve out there sooner rather than later.
The level of potential currently under his belt remains impressive at this stage in the game, so even though some sections of the Old Trafford faithful may be second guessing their club’s decision to sign the World Cup star this summer, some things evidently take a little longer than expected to work out perfectly.
Rome was not built in a day after all…
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