One of the big decisions for José Mourinho as Manchester United’s new manager will be what to do with the mercurial talents of Memphis Depay.
He came to England having scored more than 20 goals in The Eredivisie which, while admittedly a less substantial league than England, still takes some doing for a player who was then still in his teens.
TFF has gone against the grain many times this season in suggesting that Memphis was mistreated at Manchester United.
Even an erratic Memphis is far more dangerous than Jesse Lingard and we couldn’t believe that he was constantly overlooked in favour of the very average Englishman on the right flank.
We feel that Lingard was selected not because of his attacking acumen but because he was a better defender than Memphis – a player more happy to track back.
And while Mourinho will ask Memphis to provide more cover for his right-back, if he does get a chance there next season, it’s hard to imagine him being as ineffective under the Portuguese master.
Memphis is more accustomed to playing on the left but we feel that his gifts could be put to better use on the right where he can utilise his pace and power to simple but devastating effect.
Like Di Maria, Depay was seemingly punished by LvG for being a specialist forward. Mourinho may have more success with a player who clearly has the physical attributes to go to the top but looked like a lost school boy for much of last season.
The big question is whether Depay has the football brain to go with the inordinate natural skill levels? Is he a Nani or a Ronaldo?
The answer is, probably, somewhere between the two. Few players will ever scale the peaks of Ronaldo’s talent and consistency.
But we still believe that Depay can be a big success at Manchester United. He has pace, power, and amazing touch and an eye for the spectacular.
Just last season Cristiano Ronaldo picked Memphis in his top five young players on the world scene.
Here are some of his Manchester United highlights. United fans: will he be a success under Mourinho?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw8sr1ANfWc