Manchester United are interested in a deal to bring Memphis Depay back to Old Trafford this summer.

What's the talk?

Transfer Focus

That's according to a claim made by Gerard Romero (via The Express), with the transfer insider revealing that Erik ten Hag has "always been interested" in launching a concrete offer for the Barcelona forward in the summer transfer window - with the LaLiga side believed to be willing to part with the 28-year-old for a figure in the region of €20m (£17.5m).

An "unreal" signing

Considering just how impressive Depay was for Barca last season, coupled with the striker's extremely reasonable asking price, it is not difficult to understand why Ten Hag would be interested in a deal to bring the Netherlands international back to Manchester this summer.

Indeed, over his 28 LaLiga appearances in 2021/22, the £34m-rated forward was in breathtaking form for Xavi's side, scoring 12 goals, registering two assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.2 shots, making 1.6 key passes and completing 1.6 dribbles per game.

These metrics saw the £158k-per-week talent who Liam Canning dubbed "unreal" average a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.26, not only ranking him as Barcelona's fourth-best performer in the league but also as the joint tenth-best player in the Spanish top flight as a whole.

Furthermore, according to FBref, the 80-cap international also ranks in the top 1% of forwards in Europe's big five leagues and European competitions for passes attempted per 90, as well as the top 3% for progressive carries, the top 3% for progressive passes received, the top 6% for shot-creating actions, the top 6% for progressive passes and the top 8% for dribbles completed over the last 365 days.

As such, with the future of Cristiano Ronaldo appearing increasingly uncertain, Ten Hag could well be in need of a new focal point at Old Trafford ahead of the club's 2022/23 campaign, with Depay looking to possess both the ability and price tag that could make him something of a perfect signing for the 52-year-old United manager this summer.

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