Fenerbahce boss Dick Advocaat advised his former player, Depay, to leave Old Trafford to resurrect his career but should the Dutch winger heed his advice?
Advocaat used to manage Depay at PSV and ahead of tonight’s game against Fenerbahce, he’s nudged the winger to the exit door. The youngster has been left out of the squad that travelled to Turkey despite the player not being injured.
Since coming to Manchester United, Depay has failed to live up to high expectations after he scored 22 goals in his final season for PSV. Inconsistencies and the rise of Martial as well as Rashford pushed Depay further down in the pecking order.
It seemed nothing was going the Dutchman’s way even though he was managed by Louis Van Gaal who loved to select him during Netherlands World Cup run that exceeded expectations.
It seems like he’s always been linked away from United despite the player insisting he’ll fight for his place and that he feels he’s at his dream club. However, should he move to improve?
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Depay seems to be a confidence type of player who needs to start to show what he’s truly made of. He needs his manager to believe in him and to give him true confidence, not simply bring him on as a sub in the final 5 minutes of a game.
The issue with some players is they can’t perform coming off the bench and simply do much better as a starter and it seems that is the case with Depay. However, the problem is that he hasn’t done enough when starting to encourage the manager to play him again.
The winger has also suffered from being under managers who are under pressure and so less likely to gamble on him. In hindsight it feels like there wasn’t a single clear moment when Louis Van Gaal wasn’t under fire and it looks like the same is happening to Mourinho.
While Mourinho has been showing a little faith in him it isn’t quite enough for a player like Depay. He’s the type of player that De Bruyne falls under, who was also managed by Mourinho.
De Bruyne didn’t feel he was getting enough of a chance at Chelsea and moved to Germany, a move that very much saved his career. Now he’s considered to be one of the best players in the Premier League so should Depay mirror his career choices?
Our opinion on the matter-
In my opinion he shouldn’t. Mourinho has surprisingly rotated his squad relatively often and has shown his willingness to provide players with chances to perform. He’s previously had a reputation for relying on a core group of players but just as the manager said himself, this can no longer be done in the Premier League these days.
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This means Depay sooner or later will get his chance and shouldn’t jump ship just yet in January. Rather he should see how the rest of the season goes. While he hasn’t been taken to Turkey, Mourinho has brought Depay on a few times and started him once in a period of time which is still considered early days.
It’s November now and the fixture list will begin to pile up meaning rotation will begin to happen more frequently. If Depay can prove his worth, he’s very much capable of being a future key player of Manchester United.
It should also be mentioned the type of moments in which Mourinho has brought Depay on during a game. It hasn’t been when the game was already won but rather when the team needed a goal. This shows that Mourinho has faith in Depay to change the game and is simply missing out due to others outperforming him.
If the Dutch winger can knuckle down and really start to press for first team action then he will get his chance. While Louis Van Gaal may have been reluctant to play Depay due to the pressure placed on the manager, Mourinho has the guts to gamble even when under fire.
This should play into Depay’s hands. He simply must take advantage of it and not make excuses. Do you think Depay should leave Manchester United to resurrect his career? Let us know in the comments!