Louis van Gaal sends warning to Memphis Depay

 

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says summer signing Memphis Depay must embrace his side’s philosophy or face following in the footsteps of Old Trafford flops Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao.

Van Gaal revealed following the win at Goodison Park on Saturday that his assistant, Ryan Giggs, has been giving Depay guidance, but insisted it was down to the 21-year-old to follow the philosophy he has implemented.  “Ryan has already given advice to him but the player is responsible for his own deeds, you have to give respect to your team philosophy” he said. “We have seen that some players cannot adapt to the team philosophy. You cannot know in advance before you buy them. You have to wait and see. That happened with Angel Di Maria and Falcao” he added.

Depay who completed a summer move from PSV Eindhoven to United, signing a four-year contract with the club as enjoyed a productive start to life at United but admitted earlier this month that he was still adjusting to the physical demands of the Premier League.

United broke the British transfer record to sign Di Maria from Real Madrid for £59.7m in August 2014. The Argentina international, however, struggled to adapt to life in England and failed to produce the form which saw him play a pivotal role in Madrid's Champions League triumph the season before. Falcao, a season-long loan signing from Monaco, also failed to produce any consistent form while at United and returned to his parent club in the summer of 2015 before sealing a further loan move to Chelsea.

Van Gaal was asked what he felt Depay needed to do to fulfill his potential and he said “I only discuss that with Memphis, not with you. Do I still believe in him? Of course. The problem with young players is they are not consistent. That you have to learn, we have to give him time”