Louis van Gaal instructs Ed Woodward to make inquiry for Saints player
• Former United target Pedro now closing in on switch to Chelsea
Manchester United have made a surprise inquiry for Southampton’s Sadio Mané, with Louis van Gaal wanting the 23-year-old to strengthen his forward line.
United had proposed to buy Pedro from Barcelona but the deal broke down, with Van Gaal instructing Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, to ask Saints about Mané. Pedro is now set to join Chelsea.
The west London club came close to signing Pedro in January and continued to pursue the forward at the start of the summer window before it seemed Pedro had decided he preferred United.
While United insist that it was Van Gaal who decided against triggering Pedro’s £21.2m release clause, as reported by the Guardian last Friday, the 28-year-old had reservations regarding Van Gaal’s managerial style. Pedro is good friends with Víctor Valdés, with whom the Dutchman has fallen out.
Last season Mané caught the eye by scoring the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history, doing so in the 6-1 defeat of Aston Villa in May. The Senegalese scored 10 goals for Saints after arriving from Red Bull Salzburg on transfer deadline day last September.
Ronald Koeman, the Southampton coach, sanctioned an £11.8m fee for Mané so United can be expected to have made an intial bid in the region of £15m for him. Mané has 22 Senegal caps and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea in January.
Memphis Depay a natural No7 heir at Manchester United – but can he do it every week?
The Dutchman’s effervescent display against Club Brugge suggests he is undaunted by expectations at United but he must prove it consistently
The Memphis Depay show against Club Brugge on Tuesday evening was a pageant of tricks, pace, muscle, goal-creation – and two scintillating strikes of his own.
Those were the Dutchman’s first for the club and after top-scoring in PSV Eindhoven’s Eredivisie title triumph a Depay goal glut could be on the way. Three matches into his United career the finishes on 13 and 43 minutes in the Champions League play-off first leg may signal the dam is about to burst.
Luke Shaw, the left-back who links up behind Depay along his flank, thinks so. “He was really trying to get that first. Now he’s off the mark, hopefully it can bring him many more goals. Of course I am really happy for him,” Shaw says. “He is working so hard in training. It is great to be playing with him, he can beat a man and he likes the attacking support from me as well.”
Since being shifted back to his wide left position by Louis van Gaal, Depay has prospered. On the summer tour of the US the 21-year-old operated as the No10. Against Club América, San José Earthquakes, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain Depay looked uncomfortable. Balls were mis-controlled, trouble was turned into and the space a trequartista instinctively finds proved scarce.
There were moments of promise and excitement too. Whenever Depay received possession there was an intake of breath to see if his explosiveness was about to wreak havoc. Sometimes it did, but the issue could be forced unnecessarily. He also displayed an eye for a killer pass. So despite the uneven start, the sense was this was an experiment worth pursuing.
Van Gaal confirmed it after the 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 8 August. The manager acknowledged Depay had never operated behind the main striker before in his short career but he said he would continue to try him there. In classic Van Gaal fashion, by the time United arrived at Aston Villa seven days later he had decided the experiment was over, for the moment at least. Depay was shifted back to the left and Adnan Januzaj drafted into the No10 berth. The young Belgian scored the winner and a more convincing Depay was involved in the buildup, when play moved over to his flank.
For the visit of Club Brugge Van Gaal named the same XI that defeated Villa. The focus began on the faltering Wayne Rooney and ended on the dazzling Depay. The display was bookended by his goals and the cross that landed plum on Marouane Fellaini’s head for United’s third that confirmed a 3-1 advantage before next week’s return leg in Belgium.
This was the performance Van Gaal hoped for when rushing to sign Depay up before the end of last season for £25m. That move was to prevent him joining PSG, the manager told us. Van Gaal had taken Depay to Brazil 2014 when in charge of Holland and was aware of his rawness. He was conscious that the youngster would not begin the tournament in his starting XI but he harnessed his talent expertly. In consecutive games against Australia and Chile Depay was thrown on as a replacement and each time he scored. He ended the World Cup with four appearances, the goals making him Holland’s youngest scorer at the finals.
Van Gaal believes Depay has matured markedly in the intervening year. The juggle, dribble and precise finish that drew United level with Brugge was followed by a cut inside and searing shot that left Sébastien Bruzzese no chance in the Brugge goal. Each strike showed composure when required. There was a coolness about Depay.
The next question now is can the boy from Moordrecht be consistent? Football’s instant boom and bust culture means today’s hero can be tomorrow’s duffer. The bright young thing that lights up a midweek continental night can soon be written off as a show-pony lacking the fight for the Premier League’s relentless grind.
Depay wears the vaunted United No7 jersey. The lineage of glittering performers who have made it an iconic shirt include George Best, Bryan Robson, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. Since the Portuguese departed in summer 2009 no footballer has continued the tradition. Two have tried, but failed. Antonio Valencia felt the weight of its history when wearing it for a campaign, and asked to revert back to the No25. Ángel Di María took on the challenge when he arrived in a record £59.7m deal from Real Madrid but found himself wearing the No11 of PSG after just one season.
Perhaps aware of this heritage Depay requested the No7. The bullish Van Gaal will have appreciated this statement of intent from his most expensive buy of the summer. But Depay has to make statements where they really matter, of course – on the pitch.
On Tuesday evening he walked the walk for the first time. The challenge is to continue to do so on most game-days. Next up is the visit of Newcastle United on Saturday for the 12.45pm kick-off. Depay won the match against Brugge. He will want a repeat against the Magpies.
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