During pre-season Manchester United fans erupted with glee following their capture of Memphis Depay. £25m was seen as bargain for a player that had bagged 22 goals in 30 starts for PSV last season.

A couple of goals against Club Brugge in Champions League play-offs followed and all seemed well. A few months later and he is hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

It was to be expected a left sided winger wouldn’t enjoy the goal scoring record in the Premier League that was possible in Holland. Less goals is acceptable if there are notable contributions elsewhere. Sadly for Memphis Depay, after over 800 minutes of game time in a United shirt he has yet to provide a single assist.

Louis Van Gaal would have bought with the future in mind. Younger players don’t ask for the high price tag, they’re just made to carry it around. What will be making it feel slightly heavier at the moment is the blistering start teammate Anthony Martial has made to life at Old Trafford. Suddenly there’s little talk of his £58m price tag, whereas Depay’s is beginning to look pricey.

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A slow start to life at a new club can be accepted as long as the person in question provides a good work ethic and positive attitude. What isn’t helpful is being hauled into the office by Ryan Giggs for a telling off before you’ve reached double figures in league appearances.

There is some irony that Ryan Giggs is the person advising a player on how to conduct themselves in private. But it did take years for his skeletons to leave the closet so perhaps he can give sound advice on not how to behave well, but behave badly without detection.

He can also give tips on the correct ways to handle the press. Depay felt hounded by the Dutch media and doesn’t interact with them now. In turn, he became more of a face in gossip columns than the sports pages. Since being in England he told the Manchester Evening News that he was struggling to acclimatise to the heavier workload.

This is understandable, United will often have two games a week and the intensity of Old Trafford will be like nothing he has experienced before. What weakens his cries for more time adapting due to fatigue is being spotted out clubbing following the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal. He’s not the first young man to burn the candle at both ends but he’s one of the few to attempt it in the public eye then cry for sympathy.

It raises questions over his attitude and work ethic. For Giggs to pull him aside means the management are unimpressed with his overall approach to work. What worsens his case is since the firm warning the first news surrounding him is an alleged training ground bust-up with Robin Van Persie while away on international duty. Even if he’s innocent there is such thing as bad press, the last thing he needed was to be in the spotlight for the wrong reasons yet again.

If he doesn’t knuckle down, cut the party lifestyle, and start to show glimpses on the pitch, he may find himself in a position where he isn’t constantly tired from playing two games each week.

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