Memphis Depay has left Manchester United for Lyon, and Jose Mourinho has revealed he would consider offloading more of his first team squad.
Depay was signed by former Reds boss Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2015 for around £25million, but despite showing occasional glimpses of his talent, he failed to make a lasting impression in England. Indeed, Mourinho has used him just four times in the Premier League this season, each of which came from the bench.
The 22-year-old had been linked with an exit from Old Trafford for several weeks, and he has now secured a move to Lyon which could cost the French club £21.7million. Depay goes with the best wishes of the United manager who, despite not picking the him for much of the season, has nothing but good words for the player.
“The guy is a fantastic professional, he’s a kid that respected everyone and worked hard to have more chances, a kid that was frustrated because he was not having that,” he told the official club website. “I only have good things to say. By one side, he’s a fantastic professional, and by another we had too many players in his position.”
The former PSV Eindhoven star becomes the second big name to leave United this month, following Morgan Schneiderlin’s £24million move to Everton. And with Ashley Young linked with a lucrative move to China, Mourinho admits he will not stand in the way of any player who wants to leave so long as the price is right.
“I don’t think it is human to stop them from going,” he said. “Only a bad offer or no offer stops them to go. But when the offer is correct, and we know how to evaluate that, I don’t think it’s human to stop somebody to go. So if [the same applies to] one of the players that are not happy, again I would not stop them to go.”
