Why Chelsea should target a move for Lyon star Memphis Depay
Former Manchester United flop Memphis Depay has somehow managed to rediscover his best, but he’s done it in France. The 24-year-old arrived in the Ligue 1, as a shell of the player he had once been in the Eredivisie and struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford. In his spell there Memphis Depay made just over 50 appearances and managed to produce only 13 goals.
This, as many critics pointed out, was due to the fact that the Dutchman struggled to adapt to the more physical nature of the English top tier or as others pointed out, it’s because he rose too high far too soon. Whatever the reason is, now the 24-year-old has rediscovered himself as revealed in an interview with the Mirror and is now scoring goals for fun.
The 2014/15 Eredivisie player of the year, Memphis Depay finished his first season at Lyon having produced 13 goals in 18 appearances, which showed the 24-year-old at his best.
But his second season, with the departure of Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal, saw the Dutchman take over and finish the season with 22 goals and 17 assists in just 51 appearances, which is a stunning rise. He is on fire and has even continued his form into this season, producing 19 goals in 28 appearances so far.
This has also lead to another interview with the Dutch international revealing that he wants another high profile move in the near future, but this time to a bigger club. Sky Sports further revealed that Chelsea and Manchester City are on that list, but the Blues should be the side to win that race given their current issues.
While they did add Gonzalo Higuain, the 31-year-old has to show exactly what he can do in the Premier League and has six months to prove it.
But if that doesn’t work out, then making a move for Memphis Depay would be the next best option for a myriad of reasons. There is little risk in him making the same mistakes, as for one thing the 24-year-old clearly isn’t the same player that he was four years ago when he first arrived in the Premier League.
That combined with the fact that he’s a converted winger, with pace and agility to burn and a dead-ball specialist simply adds to his value.
Plus for Maurizio Sarri, the summer window will, in all likelihood, be spent wondering whether Eden Hazard will leave or not. But if he does, even with Christian Pulisic arriving, bringing in Memphis Depay would be a great option and if not as a striker, the Dutch star would easily out-do either Pedro or Willian as a winger.
