Manchester United have confirmed the signing of PSV Eindhoven winger Memphis Depay for a fee of approximately £22m.
The Dutchman, who has scored 27 goals in 38 games in all competitions this season for PSV this season, had been linked with a move to United for a few months, but here’s five things you might not know about him.
1) Dutch tradition
Upon arriving at Old Trafford, Depay will become the tenth Dutchman to play for Manchester United, following in the path of some illustrious predecessor – Edwin Van Der Sar, Ruud Van Nistlerooy and Jaap Stam – and some not so-illustrious ones – Alexander Buttner.
Depay, who will be re-united with Holland teammates Daley Blind and Robin Van Persie, providing that the former Arsenal captain stays at Old Trafford, is the fourth player to move from PSV to United, following Stam, Van Nistelrooy and Ji-Sung Park.
2) It’s in the name
Depay was born to a Dutch father and a Ghanian mother but the 21-year-old carries his name rather than his surname on the back of his shirt, as his parents separated when he was four.
The youngster has since openly spoken about the bitterness he harbours for his father, who was absent throughout his childhood.
3) A precocious talent
Depay moved to PSV’s youth team in 2006 and made his full debut in September 2011 during KNVB Cup match and lifted his first trophy at the end of that season as the Eindhoven club went on to win the competition.
However, Depay had to wait until last month to add another piece of silverware to his cabinet, as PSV won their first Eredivisie title since 2008, preventing Ajax from winning a fifth consecutive title.
At the 2014 World Cup, Depay came off the bench with Holland 2-1 against Australia, providing the assist for Van Persie’s equaliser before scoring the winner himself.
He repeated the trick in the Oranje’s last group game, scoring against Chile in a 2-0 win.
4) Anger management
Depay spent five years in PSV’s academy and his talent wasn’t the only thing that caught the attention, for one of his former coaches remarked he could often be “very angry”.
The Holland international now uses a life coach to aid his mentality.
United have got themselves a character by the looks of it.
5) Crunching the numbers
Depay has scored 21 goals in 28 Eredivisie games so far, with a further five in eight Europa League appearances, and has assisted seven goals in 38 appearances in all competitions.
He has scored 49 goals and assisted 28 in 122 appearances for the Eindhoven outfit, a remarkable record considering that he’s primarily a winger, although he is also comfortable when playing as main striker as well as just behind the main target man.
