Memphis Depay was too young to play for Manchester United, professes Ronald Koeman
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Dutch coach Ronald Koeman has revealed that Memphis Depay was too young to play for Man United, citing it as the reason why the striker struggled during his time there. The 25-year-old spent two years with the club but left for France which has seen him become a crucial part of the Dutch set-up.
The 25-year-old spent two seasons at Manchester United where he went on to make 53 appearances for the Red Devils but only contributed towards 13 goals. That changed once he moved to France with Depay contributing to 92 goals in just 130 appearances and that has helped change his status with the Dutch national team. Depay has now become a crucial cog of Ronald Koeman’s Dutch set-up and it has seen him linked with a move back to Old Trafford, Liverpool and even AC Milan.
But in a recent interview, Koeman went on to admit that the 25-year-old was too young when he signed for Manchester United and that it played a big part in him struggling there. The former Everton manager also added that Depay now has the maturity and the experience to make an impact wherever he plays his football with the striker heavily linked with a move away.
"I think he's a top player and maybe during his time at Manchester United, he was a little bit too young. He's now more experienced and what he's showed and what he has done for the national team is great and I'm really glad that we have that kind of player in our national team,” said Koeman reported Sky Sports.
The Dutch national team’s head coach has, however, come under immense criticism after he called a 3-1 win against Northern Ireland terrible to watch. The Oranje nearly walked away with a shock loss after the Irish took an early 1-0 lead but a late goal from Luuk de Jong and a Memphis Depay brace saw the Dutch win that game. But Koeman’s comments after the game saw the Dutch manager criticized and he admitted that his words may have been a little too strong.
"Of course I was a little bit irritated after the game in the way they wasted time from minute one and the referee did nothing against that and that was my irritation. My irritation was not coming out of how they played because they showed a difficult team to beat, they showed the spirit that you would expect from them.
"The reaction of their manager is okay, I accept it, and maybe the words that I used at the time were a little bit harsh and if I need to apologise for that I will do it,” added Koeman.
