On Sunday night, Manchester United outcast Memphis Depay scored a brace in the Netherlands 3-1 win against Luxembourg.
The game was a rare occurrence when the 22-year-old winger has actually been spotted on a football pitch this season. Depay is out of favour with Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho. The youngster has made just four Premier League appearances this season, all from the substitutes bench.
In fact, those appearances add up to less than 25 minutes on the pitch in the top-flight for the Red Devils in the current campaign. Depay arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2015 from PSV Eindhoven for a fee that could possible reach £30million.
The Dutch international seemed to be an exciting young talent, who was going to turn out to be a very good signing for United. Instead, he has struggled for game time and form at United.
The obvious solution seems to be to leave Old Trafford. United’s north-west rivals Everton are being linked with a loan move in January after boss Ronald Koeman stated he was interested in signing Depay.
A temporary move to a team like Everton, who are expected to be challenging for a top-six spot in the Premier League could well revive the youngster’s career. Toffees boss Koeman is obviously a fan of the winger’s, so maybe he could get the best out of his compatriot.
Italian champions Juventus have also been linked with a move for Depay in January. However, Depay may wish to prove himself in the Premier League, having struggled at United.
Memphis Depay does have talent, but maybe his current situation could be good for the youngster in the long run. He came into the English top-flight with a big ego but has found it tough.
Maybe the winger can now move on and use what he has learnt in the last 18 months to build himself a successful career.