Nice appear to have taken themselves out of the running to sign Manchester United winger Memphis Depay after the club’s president Jean-Pierre Rivere told RMC that the Dutchman is too expensive.
What’s the word?
Depay has been heavily linked with a move away from Old Trafford since it became clear that he was not a favourite of manager Jose Mourinho.
The winger has not started a single Premier League game this season, making just eight appearances in all competitions.
In fact, the winger has played just 20 minutes of top-flight action, which has sparked rumours about his long-term future with the Red Devils.
Nice club president Rivere has gone public with the French outfit’s interest in Depay, but he has suggested that only a loan option would suit the club due to the player’s apparent high price tag.
He told RMC: “We looked at him, like a lot of clubs have, but it is extremely complicated. It is a situation that is out of our financial reach. You have a club that bought him for a certain amount, that wants to sell him.
“When we looked at Depay, it was in another way, which is not possible today. He was bought very expensively by Manchester United, they want to possibly sell him and we cannot compete in this sort of situation.”
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What is the best option for United?
Well, if Nice are being knocked back in their attempts to sign Depay, then the Premier League giants must be looking for a fairly substantial fee.
Let’s be honest, United are not exactly a club in need of a financial boost, but they are likely to want to recoup at least some of the reported £25m fee they spent to buy him from PSV Eindhoven in 2015.
It appears as though a loan option will not be on the cards as far as United are concerned, with Mourinho stressing to reporters that only one player – goalkeeper Sam Johnstone – will be allowed to leave the club on a temporary basis.
Everton have also been linked with Depay, but taking into account Nice’s stance on the situation, the Red Devils are not desperate to offload their winger and may wait until the right figure lands in their lap.
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