Manchester United winger Memphis Depay has refused to blame Louis van Gaal for his disappointing debut season in the Premier League, and backed himself to show his worth next term.
The Holland international was signed from PSV Eindhoven for £25m last June and given the prized No.7 shirt, but he failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford, despite a promising pre-season.
But, having spent much of the second half of last season on the substitutes bench, Depay is reluctant to point the finger at his compatriot ex-manager Van Gaal, and vowed to impress new boss Jose Mourinho this summer.
‘It’s never nice to be criticised, but it’s part of the game and I have to deal with it. The season did not go as planned and that hurt my confidence a bit” he told Fox Sports.
‘I do not want to blame the manager for it, he added. ‘I played some good games and some bad matches.
‘I do not want to blame anyone for it. I have not been in touch with Van Gaal yet. I might give him a call or send him a text.’
Van Gaal handed Memphis just 13 starts in the 2015-2016 campaign, with him coming off the bench 16 times, and the winger has now set out to catch Mourinho’s eye..
‘It’s now up to me to deal with this situation and get back on track. I think every attacker is intuitive,’ he continued.
You have to make decisions on when to go for an individual action. The old Memphis, who beat every opponent, will soon be back again.
‘I did not play as many games as I hoped and I am obviously disappointed about that. I had different expectations. But I have to deal with that.
‘It’s now on to next season. I have to prove my worth during pre-season.’
The fact that Holland did not qualify for the EUROS might work in Depay’s favor, as he will be one of the few regulars when United return to preseason training under Mourinho in early July, giving him plenty of opportunities to impress the Special One.
But I still find it hard to see where Depay hols down a regular spot in the United first team with Martial and Rashford potentially playing either side of Ibrahimović and Wayne Rooney is in the No.10 role.
DO you think Depay can resurrect his United career or is it time for United to sell him and move on?
