Manchester United Fans Crying Out For Memphis Depay Buyback Clause To Be Activated

The former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay has well and truly put his struggles in England behind him, with his latest fine performance in orange coming last night as his national team beat World Cup winners France 2-0 in Uefa Nations League action.

Depay himself notched one of those two goals, an outlandish little Panenka penalty that he effortless lifted past Hugo Lloris deep into injury time, and that effort might have elicited a twinge of regret from those in the red half of Manchester.

United brought him to the Premier League in 2015 for £30m from PSV Eindhoven but he failed to settle, scoring just twice in 33 appearances over a two-year spell.

His then teammate Wayne Rooney spoke about the problems with temperament that the youngster had during that time.

“Memphis? He came on at Stoke away and messed up for their goal so Louis van Gaal made him play for the reserves the next day. I said, 'Look, it's a bit difficult [for you]. Just don't come in with all your fancy stuff'.

"And he turned up for the reserve game in his Rolls-Royce, wearing a leather jacket and a cowboy hat. And I just thought, 'What's the point?'"

The 24-year-old plays his football with Ligue 1’s Lyon these days and has five goals and five assists in the competition this season, having played just thirteen games.

He was let go by United for a reported £20m fee in a deal that, interestingly, includes a buy-back clause. Jose Mourinho and Ed Woodward must surely now be sizing up the merits of pushing that button and bringing back a player who has thrived in a more central role this term.

Manchester United fans are certainly feeling positive about that possibility, judging by the reactions on Twitter.

"What a blunder to sell Memphis Depay? Can we buy him back please, Jose?" asked one, while another suggest an outgoing that could make room for Depay in the current squad. "Time to sell [Alexis] Sanchez and buy back Memphis."

That's just a couple. It’s certainly not hard to see the logic behind this line of thinking. But would Jose Mourinho welcome a player with a colourful disciplinary past such as Depay into his squad?