With all this talk about Manchester United bringing in superstars left, right and centre we should perhaps focus on facts rather than speculation.
Because we all have our opinions on whether Louis is making the right moves in the market for players like Ramos, Schneiderlon and Schweinsteiger.
But isn’t it best to judge him on the players that he has actually signed? To that end Manchester United may not do better business this summer than that which brought the superb Memphis Depay to the club.
United have fumbled around for top quality wide men for years. It’s an almost impossible job to replace Cristiano Ronaldo – who left in 2009 – and Manchester United haven’t got close – until now.
Because the signing of Memphis Depay from PSV could finally banish the ghost of CR7 once and for all. Certainly Ryan Giggs – a master of understatement – didn’t hold back when asked to assess the quality of the player recently. He said:
‘One thing we probably have lacked since Cristiano – and Becks before him – is free-kicks. And it looks like Depay has a great track record from free-kicks as well.
‘[Depay] is the kind Old Trafford will warm to,’
‘He’s an exciting player, but there’s also substance behind it. He was top scorer in the Dutch league and got plenty of assists as well.
‘He’s a “United” type. Our fans demand exciting players, players who can get them off their seats and score spectacular goals.’
Depay’s technique arguably lacks finesse at this point. On the flip side, he’s a far more effective player than Ronnie was at 21. Ronaldo scored 20 goals in his first 120 games at club level for Sporting Lisbon and Manchester United. Depay has hit 50 in the same period.
The Portuguese was still very inconsistent at this point of his career and, only in the last two years of his 6 at United, did he really wow the crowd on a weekly basis.
In Depay’s favour, he’s every bit as strong as Ronny. He’s just as quick and has a fantastic goal scoring record for a winger with 28 goals in 40 games for PSV last season.
He loves to take people on and, according to Dutch sports journalist, Thijs Slegers:
he can win the sprint duels with almost anyone
It seems that Depay’s technique still needs some tweaking. But, after 6 years of waiting, Manchester United may have finally signed a player who can fill the shoes of CR7.
Exciting times indeed for Manchester United.
Mainman
Jul 2, 2015 at 11:30 pm
Manu need otamendi as a cheaper alternative to ramos,henriquez need chance to prove himself,lvg sell nani,evans,rvp do to his wages,chicha,rafael,lindegaard,henriquez and johnstone should be giving new deal, in:otamendi,lacazette. next season xi=degea-valdes,jones-valencia,shaw-blind,smalling-mcnair,otamendi-rojo,fellaini-carick,demaria-januzaj,hereira-pereira,Rooney-mata,depay-young,lacazette-henriquez.