Manchester united have cut their losses on Mephis Depay by agreeing his €25million (£21m) sale to Lyon, in a deal which is particularly attractive to the club because it removes his high £100,000-a-week wages from the salary bill.
The deal means United taking a small loss on the player whom Louis van Gaal had high hopes for when buying him from PSV Eindhoven in May 2015 for £25m with add-ons.
However, the Premier League side concluded that it was never going to work out, despite Jose Mourinho speaking far more positively about the player than his predecessor. United have retained a buy back option on Depay, in case he flourishes in the less intense French spotlight, though the chances of him making it back to Old Trafford are extremely remote.
There will be add-ons for the club if Lyon qualify for the Champions League, sell him on or offer him a new contract. The club feel that a number of these are easily achievable, limiting to the small loss they have made on him.
Depay frustrated Van Gaal like no other player and even before his tenure drew to a close his coaches were privately expressing extreme frustration that the player who had promised so much for the Dutch manager’s Netherlands team at the 2014 World Cup clearly lacked the attitude and mind-set to flourish at Old Trafford.Both Van Gaal and Ryan Giggs tried to talk him into a better work ethic. Van Gaal had given him his Holland debut when in charge of the national team.
Depay told Van Gaal that he wanted the No 7 jersey because he intended to succeed Angel di Maria, then Britain’s most expensive footballer, but it never got much better than his brace and performance against Club Brugge in August 2015, in his third game for the club. He would go on to score only five more goals, despite making 52 appearances in total
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