After 18 months of toil at Old Trafford, Eveton could hand Depay an escape route.
Former Everton winger Andy Van Der Meyde believes The Toffees are the ‘perfect’ club for out-pof-favour Manchester United attacker Memphis Depay as he looks to kick-start his career in English football, according to Voetball International.
Big things were expected of the self-assured Dutchman when he became the latest heir of the fabled number seven shirt at Old Trafford last summer, reuniting with former Holland boss Louis Van Gaal in the process.
However Depay quickly stumbled into the cul-de-sac taken by Angel Di Maria rather than the path to greatness carved out by Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo, rapidly losing the faith of Van Gaal and falling even further down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho.
Consequently, Everton boss Ronald Koeman admitted that he would jump at the chance of taking the talented yet erratic winger to Everton on a temporary deal, as reported by Sky Sports, with Depay himself doing little to dampen the speculation after netting twice in the Netherland’s 3-1 World Cup qualifying win against Luxembourg.
And Van Der Meyde, who made 17 appearances for the Dutch national team between 2002 and 2004, believes his compatriot can only benefit from working under one of the country’s greatest ever footballers.
“Everton is the perfect club for Memphis Depay, but only because Ronald Koeman is there,” the former Inter Milan star told Voetball International.
“His transfer to Manchester United he earned all through hard work himself, but now is at an age where he needs to play more. His talent is never lost, but you have to play football to continue to develop.
“Memphis is too talented to sit on the bench. Everton has Ronald and Erwin Koeman, trainers who know from the Dutch league. They know how he is. That can be a big advantage.”
Depay carved out a reputation as a prolific goalscoring wideman during his formative years at PSV, a club Koeman guided to the Eredivisie title in the 2006/07 season.
Furthermore, the straight-talking coach proved his ability to coax the best out of talented players during a successful two-season stint with Southampton, suggesting that he can revitalise a player who looks a shadow of the swaggering youngster thumping free-kicks and whipping crosses in the Eredivisie.
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