Darren Ambrose says he is ‘surprised’ that Premier League clubs like Chelsea and West Ham United haven’t looked to sign Memphis Depay ahead of his move from Barcelona to Atletico Madrid.
The former Premier League midfielder was told by Sky transfer expert, Kaveh Solhekol, that Depey was ‘offered to many Premier League clubs’ in the summer, including West Ham United, but a move didn’t materialise.
But now the Netherlands international is ‘on his way to Atletico Madrid’ after the Spanish clubs agreed on a fee of around ‘£2.5 million’ and he will sign a four-year deal, as he told The Transfer Show on Sky Sports.
Depay has repped the likes of Manchester United, Lyon and Barcelona during his career, as well as being a key figure for his country on the international stage.
The 28-year-old has an impressive 43 goals in 86 matches for the Netherlands, as he begins a new chapter of his career.
But given the small fee Depay is supposedly moving for, Ambrose felt that Premier League teams would pounce on that.
“You would think Chelsea would take that risk, they need that sort of number nine,” said Ambrose. “What he will do is give 110% for Simeone, or he will be out of the team and he has been out of the team before, then he loses a bit of confidence.
“We talk about surprised that Premier League teams didn’t come in for Depay and show more interest in him. Crystal Palace, for instance, or West Ham.
“Then you have Atletico Madrid that’s after him, then he is going to go to that club. He has been at Manchester United. He has been at Barcelona.
“For me, he would see a Palace or a West Ham as a real drop in quality of club, so I can understand why he has gone, but for the price.”
WEST HAM’S FORWARD ISSUES
Whilst Chelsea are looking to bolster their attacking forward line, they have already added Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix to their ranks this month, so from that perspective, they aren’t going to lose sleep.
But West Ham, and especially the under-fire David Moyes, need that firepower in their unexpected relegation battle.
Well, rather than look at Depay for such a small fee and a player who could play across the front three, it seems as though the Hammers are going to pay £15 million for Aston Villa’s Danny Ings.
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