Depay linked with Man Utd return as Mourinho's reason for selling him emerges

As former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay continues to be linked with a return to English football, the reasons for his Old Trafford exit back in 2017 may no longer apply.

United's then-manager Jose Mourinho suggested the fierce competition for places at the club played a part in Memphis' departure. The Dutch international left for Lyon in 2017, but moved on to Barcelona in 2021 after an enviable goalscoring record with the French club.

Barcelona themselves have strengthened in attack in 2022, with Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joining and others potentially following. This could require Xavi's team to part ways with a man who has just one year left on his contract, though they are keen to lock down a replacement before sanctioning any sale.

After joining United in a big-money move from PSV Eindhoven, Memphis scored just seven goals in 53 appearances. Most of those games came under Louis van Gaal, with Mourinho allowing him to leave after just 18 months but including a buy-back clause which the English club never ended up exercising.

The Dutchman attracted attention for some of his off-field displays, including turning up to training in a Rolls-Royce. However, Mourinho insisted that had nothing to do with his decision to sanction the sale.

"He was a fantastic professional, so if somebody thinks he didn't work because he was not a great professional it is totally wrong," Mourinho said in 2017. "One thing is some picture somebody takes of him in an amazing car or dressing in a very specific way but the image is totally wrong.

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"The guy is a fantastic professional, he's a kid that respected everyone, he tried to work, was frustrated because he was not having that but I only have good things to say about him," the manager continued. "If I can find a little reason it's to say that he's a player from the only position where we have over-booking.

"He is a winger and wingers is what we have more, so it's the position where it's more difficult to have chances, where it's more difficult to be the next choice because it's a position we never have problems. We have Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Mata, Ashley Young, Martial, Rashford, it's a position where we have difficulties when we want to do rotation."

Of the six other players named by Mourinho, only two - Martial and Rashford - remain at the club. Mkhitaryan joined Arsenal in a swap deal for Alexis Sanchez in 2018, Young left for Inter Milan in 2020 and Lingard and Mata both lasted until the end of the 2021-22 season.

Furthermore, Memphis - like Martial - would be an option in a central role as well as out wide after developing his game while in France and Spain. United have fewer options in a central role as well, thanks to the close-season departure of Edinson Cavani and uncertainty around the future of Cristiano Ronaldo, and continue to be linked with new recruits in attack.