Not very long ago, Memphis Depay’s future at Barcelona had been called into question amidst the Catalans’ links to multiple attacking signings. While the club still continues to push for the transfers of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, their stance on Depay seems to have changed....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Indeed as reported by SPORT, unless something unexpected happens in the coming weeks, Barcelona plan to keep hold of Depay beyond the summer transfer window. The sporting staff at the club see the striker as a valuable member of the team and wish to keep him around.
Depay joined Barca only last summer, arriving on a free transfer after his contract with Olympique Lyon had run out. The 28-year-old enjoyed a fine start to life in Catalonia, scoring some important goals before an injury in early December derailed his campaign.
The Netherlands international returned to action in March earlier this year but game time was hard to come by following the acquisitions of Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Even then, the forward continued to make good use of the opportunities that came his way and ended the season as the joint-top goalscorer for the Blaugrana, with 13 strikes to his name.
However given the club’s sorry financial state, Depay had been touted as one of the players who could be allowed to leave if a significant offer arrived. Arsenal are one of the clubs to have shown interest in the former Manchester United attacker.
But, as per the above mentioned report from SPORT, Barcelona have changed their stance and are happy to retain the services of Depay for next season. Having proven his worth at club level, the 28-year-old impressed on national duty with the Netherlands recently.
The Dutchman scored the winning goal in stoppage time as the Oranje beat Wales 3-2 on Tuesday night. In the process, he took his tally for the Netherlands to 42 goals, becoming their second all-time leading goalscorer only behind Robin van Persie.
Given his contributions over the past ten months, Barcelona see Depay as a valuable asset and are set to keep hold of him unless anything unexpected happens in the coming months.
