Memphis Depay | PSV confirm deal with Man Utd is agreed!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Nate Dogg said:
How quick is this guy?

One thing we have missed this season is wingers and pace.
Click to expand...

I still don't think we miss physical pace. What we miss is quick thinking and the ability to make a fast transition from defense to attack. We also need the ability to let the ball circulate faster from one side to the other in order to pull deep standing oppositions out of shape, that imo is really what we are lacking and not some players who can run fast.
 
RedSky said:
The problem with Depay looking at that video is that a lot of his goals came through the middle so if we did sign him I hope we utilise him as an actual forward rather than a winger. If you look at his wing play, he drifts in and that will narrow our play down, this would be fine if we had someone on the right who plays wide (and is effective) but we don't.

I would love to see us ditch this seasons tactics and revert to a 4-3-3. You could slot Di Maria in the midfield 3 in the position which he excelled at in his last year for Real, and Depay could be one of our forward choices. Slot Blind in the DM role of the 3 midfield and then rotate Herrera/Felliani/Carrick for the final 3rd midfield choice.

We'd still need another pacey forward though as a forward 3 of Depay/Rooney/RvP/Wilson would all be too slow (not sure on how fast Wilson is though tbf).
Click to expand...
Wilson is pretty quick to be honest. Januzaj or even Mata could do a job on the right wing coming inside, but maybe not ideal.
 
RedSky said:
The problem with Depay looking at that video is that a lot of his goals came through the middle so if we did sign him I hope we utilise him as an actual forward rather than a winger. If you look at his wing play, he drifts in and that will narrow our play down, this would be fine if we had someone on the right who plays wide (and is effective) but we don't.

I would love to see us ditch this seasons tactics and revert to a 4-3-3. You could slot Di Maria in the midfield 3 in the position which he excelled at in his last year for Real, and Depay could be one of our forward choices. Slot Blind in the DM role of the 3 midfield and then rotate Herrera/Felliani/Carrick for the final 3rd midfield choice.

We'd still need another pacey forward though as a forward 3 of Depay/Rooney/RvP/Wilson would all be too slow (not sure on how fast Wilson is though tbf).
Click to expand...
Depay and Wilson are very very fast, Rooney is no slouch either.
 
Wilson is not pretty quick. He's lightning, like a young Owen.
 
NoLogo said:
I still don't think we miss physical pace. What we miss is quick thinking and the ability to make a fast transition from defense to attack. We also need the ability to let the ball circulate faster from one side to the other in order to pull deep standing oppositions out of shape, that imo is really what we are lacking and not some players who can run fast.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Can't believe how many posters seem to think a pacey forward is the solution. As if LVG is suddenly going to have us knocking balls over the top or something.
 
Depay is really fast. He's got a great burst of acceleration and a high top speed. Combine that with his strength and he's very difficult to knock off the ball.
 
Sied said:
Agreed. Can't believe how many posters seem to think a pacey forward is the solution. As if LVG is suddenly going to have us knocking balls over the top or something.
Click to expand...
I think they want a pacey forward as an option to replace ADM when LVG gets a hankering to play one behind a #9 so that ADM can stay in midfield.

Especially since playing Rooney in there is now verboten.
 
Sied said:
Agreed. Can't believe how many posters seem to think a pacey forward is the solution. As if LVG is suddenly going to have us knocking balls over the top or something.
Click to expand...
Of course not, but having width, directness and energy uptop will alleviate the pressure our creative players have.
 
Reus signing a new contract finally makes this interesting. Reus or Depay for the same price, it's a no brainer who to chose.

Now you have two goalscoring wingers who are right footed.

One is definitely special, costs 20-30 million pounds, however he is a young prospect that still has a lot of things to learn. How fast will he adapt, will Depay be ready to help us challenge for the league, and also Champions League? Might take him two or three years.

On the other hand there's Reus, who's proven himself at various very high levels. Has the right age, has the experience, but he will also cost at least double as much as Depay. I think he's a bit more special than Depay will ever be, but Depay is very good none the less, exceptional even. Both will basically offer goals from the wing.

Who should we chose? I'd still say Reus, but it's now a very close call in terms of value for your money. And there's the fact that Reus perhaps wants to stay at Dortmund. While Depay would love to come to us and he'll also be able to accept being benched/not having the team built around him since he's still young.
 
Henrik Larsson said:
Reus signing a new contract finally makes this interesting. Reus or Depay for the same price, it's a no brainer who to chose.

Now you have two goalscoring wingers who are right footed.

One is definitely special, costs 20-30 million pounds, however he is a young prospect that still has a lot of things to learn. How fast will he adapt, will Depay be ready to help us challenge for the league, and also Champions League? Might take him two or three years.

On the other hand there's Reus, who's proven himself at various very high levels. Has the right age, has the experience, but he will also cost at least double as much as Depay. I think he's a bit more special than Depay will ever be, but Depay is very good none the less, exceptional even. Both will basically offer goals from the wing.

Who should we chose? I'd still say Reus, but it's a very close call in terms of value for your money. And there's the fact that Reus perhaps wants to stay at Dortmund. While Depay would love to come to us and he'll also be able to accept being benched/not having the team built around him since he's still young.
Click to expand...

How do you mean? His clause was 25 mil, which is probably the price we would have to pay for Depay, and with Reus signing a new contract, that price would only go up no?
 
NoLogo said:
I still don't think we miss physical pace. What we miss is quick thinking and the ability to make a fast transition from defense to attack. We also need the ability to let the ball circulate faster from one side to the other in order to pull deep standing oppositions out of shape, that imo is really what we are lacking and not some players who can run fast.
Click to expand...

I agree and disagree.

It's mostly about off the ball movement and quicker passing (as well as not having 3 CB's out there) but it's also about having guys who can turn and head upfield quickly or beat a man when pressed/open (Di Maria is great at this, Rafael is pretty good and Januzaj too already, but not sure anyone else is even average). Herrera quickens the pace well with his passing and off the ball movement, but he never plays.

But personnel matters too. You can't really play too fast with both RVP and Falcao not having the pace to get open when dropping deep or wide, Mata also looking ponderous, fullbacks who don't know how to time their runs in (and a lack of possession deep enough to allow for that), and I think teams play a higher line against us than we would with some pace. The Falcao-RVP 1-2 that led to his miss against West Ham was one of the first of its kind we've had all season. Rooney's pace up front, stretching play but also dropping off wide and deeper would help us in that regard, as would his tendency to wander.

TLDR: We aren't generating pace and space due to style and personnel, but if we sign a good wing forward, get Rooney up top and Herrera in the lineup, that should improve.

Depay----Rooney--------
---DiMaria-Herrera--RW--
---------Blind-----------
Shaw------------Rafael/FB
------CB----CB----------
----------De Gea-----------

should be able to play pretty fast. In a tough game, you can always throw Di Maria out right and bring in another CM, ideally a signing.
 
NoPace said:
I agree and disagree.

It's mostly about off the ball movement and quicker passing (as well as not having 3 CB's out there) but it's also about having guys who can turn and head upfield quickly or beat a man when pressed/open (Di Maria is great at this, Rafael is pretty good and Januzaj too already, but not sure anyone else is even average). Herrera quickens the pace well with his passing and off the ball movement, but he never plays.

But personnel matters too. You can't really play too fast with both RVP and Falcao not having the pace to get open when dropping deep or wide, Mata also looking ponderous, fullbacks who don't know how to time their runs in (and a lack of possession deep enough to allow for that), and I think teams play a higher line against us than we would with some pace. The Falcao-RVP 1-2 that led to his miss against West Ham was one of the first of its kind we've had all season. Rooney's pace up front, stretching play but also dropping off wide and deeper would help us in that regard, as would his tendency to wander.

TLDR: We aren't generating pace and space due to style and personnel, but if we sign a good wing forward, get Rooney up top and Herrera in the lineup, that should improve.

Depay----Rooney--------
---DiMaria-Herrera--RW--
---------Blind-----------
Shaw------------Rafael/FB
------CB----CB----------
----------De Gea-----------

should be able to play pretty fast. In a tough game, you can always throw Di Maria out right and bring in another CM, ideally a signing.
Click to expand...
Nani should slot into that RW slot just fine. If he can bring his top form we should have a great team. Di Maria can always play that role too if required.
 
NoLogo said:
I still don't think we miss physical pace. What we miss is quick thinking and the ability to make a fast transition from defense to attack. We also need the ability to let the ball circulate faster from one side to the other in order to pull deep standing oppositions out of shape, that imo is really what we are lacking and not some players who can run fast.
Click to expand...
I think we miss pace AND faster passing/transition.
 
Impressive increase in the goals from a similar percentage of shots, but needs to get the dribbling back, hasn't been doing it enough in the games I've seen.
 
Admittedly haven't watched him much since the World Cup but have been very impressed with his stats. Going to watch him tonight at 7PM in quite an interesting fixture between AZ v PSV
 
Floyd said:
Wilson is not pretty quick. He's lightning, like a young Owen.
Click to expand...

I swear to god I just don't see it.

I guess we need to start playing through balls into space so he can run onto them but he never looks visibly quick to me, might just be his running style. His boots don't help either, look like massive clod-hoppers on his feet, Chicharito was the same. If they wore black Mercurials somehow they'd visibly look lighter on their feet.

Owen always did look lightning.
 
Last edited:
NoPace said:
I agree and disagree.

It's mostly about off the ball movement and quicker passing (as well as not having 3 CB's out there) but it's also about having guys who can turn and head upfield quickly or beat a man when pressed/open (Di Maria is great at this, Rafael is pretty good and Januzaj too already, but not sure anyone else is even average). Herrera quickens the pace well with his passing and off the ball movement, but he never plays.

But personnel matters too. You can't really play too fast with both RVP and Falcao not having the pace to get open when dropping deep or wide, Mata also looking ponderous, fullbacks who don't know how to time their runs in (and a lack of possession deep enough to allow for that), and I think teams play a higher line against us than we would with some pace. The Falcao-RVP 1-2 that led to his miss against West Ham was one of the first of its kind we've had all season. Rooney's pace up front, stretching play but also dropping off wide and deeper would help us in that regard, as would his tendency to wander.

TLDR: We aren't generating pace and space due to style and personnel, but if we sign a good wing forward, get Rooney up top and Herrera in the lineup, that should improve.

Depay----Rooney--------
---DiMaria-Herrera--RW--
---------Blind-----------
Shaw------------Rafael/FB
------CB----CB----------
----------De Gea-----------

should be able to play pretty fast. In a tough game, you can always throw Di Maria out right and bring in another CM, ideally a signing.
Click to expand...
The problem I have with this, and 4:3:3 in general, is that Rooney would either have to play out of position or RvP and Wilson won't get any games. Like it or not, Wazza has been pretty much undroppable for years now. He always starts when fit and he's never subbed off. I don't think this will change in the coming seasons, to be honest.
 
jb8521 said:
Click to expand...

As I suspected. He is in the midst of undergoing a mini-Ronaldo transformation in a mini-league. Less skills and dribbles, more tap-ins and finishes from in and around the box. Not a bad thing but he must be careful not to completely lose his flair attributes as Ronaldo has, because he is never going to be as good as his idol at scoring.
 
Kevin said:
As I suspected. He is in the midst of undergoing a mini-Ronaldo transformation in a mini-league. Less skills and dribbles, more tap-ins and finishes from in and around the box. Not a bad thing but he must be careful not to completely lose his flair attributes as Ronaldo has, because he is never going to be as good as his idol at scoring.
Click to expand...
Because he's in the Eredivisie at a side that's quite comfortably walking the league, I think he can afford to. If/when he makes a move, I'm sure he'll revert a little more back to his tricky winger stuff.
 
Kevin said:
As I suspected. He is in the midst of undergoing a mini-Ronaldo transformation in a mini-league. Less skills and dribbles, more tap-ins and finishes from in and around the box. Not a bad thing but he must be careful not to completely lose his flair attributes as Ronaldo has, because he is never going to be as good as his idol at scoring.
Click to expand...

It's normally a very positive sign when a winger starts converting more chances. The very best have done this - Ronaldo, as you say, Best etc. Normally it does not come at a compromise.
 
De Gea (24)
Clyne (23) McNair (19) Hummels (26) Shaw (19)
Herrera (25)* Pogba (21) di Maria (26)
Januzaj (19) Wilson (19) Depay (21)

* or more defensively with Blind (24)​

I'd love to see that team! Youthful, huge potential, power, speed and skill. Proper United attributes ;-)
 
Guys, please do realize that Depay is one of those players that should absolutely not be based on youtube highlights.

Depay is an amazing talent, but hes the opposite of what United needs atm. What we abselutely do not need is another guy who is trying to beat his defender every chance he gets, loses the ball and has the "nani form".
 
Rezyuz said:
Guys, please do realize that Depay is one of those players that should absolutely not be based on youtube highlights.

Depay is an amazing talent, but hes the opposite of what United needs atm. What we abselutely do not need is another guy who is trying to beat his defender every chance he gets, loses the ball and has the "nani form".
Click to expand...
I would say the opposite. The only players we have that can beat a man are ADM and Januzaj.
 
Rezyuz said:
Guys, please do realize that Depay is one of those players that should absolutely not be based on youtube highlights.

Depay is an amazing talent, but hes the opposite of what United needs atm. What we abselutely do not need is another guy who is trying to beat his defender every chance he gets, loses the ball and has the "nani form".
Click to expand...

We actually need a player who can beat his man in wide areas, we need to prevent the fullbacks to support their CBs, in order to give more space for our strikers. We also need a wide player who scores goals.
 
GloryHunter07 said:
I would say the opposite. The only players we have that can beat a man are ADM and Januzaj.
Click to expand...

And how many times does Adnan lose possession trying to force his way through?

We don't need another guy atm that tries 8 times and succeeds twice. We need that guy who is efficient, and takes the chance when he knows he will get it.

Beside both Depay, Januzaj, Di Maria are all forward wingers. And the last time United played with these was 2008. You can have the best winger in the world but when you position him as a traditional winger and give him a shitload of defensive tasks it will always be bad.
 
It think the idea though is that Depay's signing would facilitate a shift to the use of what you call 'forward wingers'.
 
The thing with Depay is that even when he's not on form he can contribute with the goals. He has a knack of being at the right place at the right time. Now he will not be getting crazy numbers in the PL just yet but he's just 21(turned today). So he has time on his side. The only thing I can fault him for is his selfishness. He will beat 4,5 players on a mazy run and be clean through only to shoot off target or ignore the easier option in the end and get tackled. But for a young exuberant winger , this might not be the worst thing to have..
 
red_7 said:
De Gea (24)
Clyne (23) McNair (19) Hummels (26) Shaw (19)
Herrera (25)* Pogba (21) di Maria (26)
Januzaj (19) Wilson (19) Depay (21)

* or more defensively with Blind (24)​

I'd love to see that team! Youthful, huge potential, power, speed and skill. Proper United attributes ;-)
Click to expand...

Sadly you'll not see a United side without Rooney until he's gone from the club.
 
I've tweeted him that it would be great to see a player like him at United. Don't worry guys.......I gots this!
 
Scarecrow said:
The problem I have with this, and 4:3:3 in general, is that Rooney would either have to play out of position or RvP and Wilson won't get any games. Like it or not, Wazza has been pretty much undroppable for years now. He always starts when fit and he's never subbed off. I don't think this will change in the coming seasons, to be honest.
Click to expand...

If we're in the CL, we'll play 55ish game next year and when we're at home against bottom half teams in the Prem, Rooney should probably just play as the 10 anyways as we try to outscore teams (in this scenario where we have wide talent in Di Maria, Depay/Bale/Robben, and one of Nani or Januzaj is performing well).

So, I think there would be enough games for RVP and Wilson, especially with strikers being the most common subs, playing twice a week, Rooney's normal injury niggles and RVP being a year older (and his injury issues) and Wilson at a stage in his body where not overdoing it is best.

Rooney or Wilson could play the odd game wide, too.

TLDR: The perfect 9 rotation is basically one starter (Rooney), one aging star (RVP) and one up and comer who gets minutes when he can (Wilson) and we'd have that.
 
Wasn't quite his day today in the sharp end, but you can see his potential and his threat in behind defence is something we lack massively.

He was absolutely gutted not to score, which is a trait I love to see!

If this is him having a bad game we could certainly do a lot worse.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.