Former Manager Reveals Why Memphis Depay Has Struggled To Adapt To Life In Manchester

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Memphis Depay’s close relationship with his mother is one of the major reasons why he has struggled to adapt to life at Manchester United.

That is the opinion of Depay’s former manager at PSV Eindhoven, Fred Rutten, who said he believes that the winger has found his spell at Old Trafford difficult to contend with due to the gulf in distance between Depay and his mum Cora, according to 90min.

Rutten spoke to the Manchester Evening News about his former protege, and claims that his poor showings for United since a 2015 summer switch to the North West of England had not been aided by Depay moving away from home for the first time.

Depay is known to be extremely close to his mother – particularly in the wake of his father walking out on the pair with Depay just four years old – and Rutten said that being apart from the one consistent supporter throughout his life had had more of an impact on Depay than most people realise.

He said:

“I think he has a very good relationship with his mother but I think that’s part of it (why he has struggled at United), but he’s still young and I think he can develop to be a big player – young players take time to develop.

“Twenty years ago, they had much more time to impress; now they have to be there.”

Depay has started just one match for United so far this term as he has fallen out-of-favour under current manager Jose Mourinho. The winger had featured more regularly under predecessor Louis Van Gaal last season following his £30m transfer from PSV, but he still found the rigours of Premier League football difficult to cope with.

His form for the Red Devils is a far cry from that of the devastating youngster who took the Dutch Eredivisie by storm upon his emergence from the youth ranks, and Rutten added that Depay needed to find his self-belief again if he was to make a name for himself in England’s top flight.

He said:

“The first time I met him, he had so much confidence. He thought, already, at 15/16 he could play in the first team. In his head is, ‘I want to be the best player’. Maybe it’s a bit of arrogance but that’s the personality of Memphis.

“There are young players who have so much confidence, but players like Memphis show it on the pitch, in training and for the team.”

Depay has been linked with loan switches to Premier League rivals Everton or Serie A side Roma in the January window as first-team football opportunities in Manchester have dried up, and his agent, Kees Ploegsma, believes that a move away from the 20-time English champions could be of huge benefit to his client.

He said:

“Sometimes, young players, they switch from clubs and then you see they come back. There’s still big young players who leave the club and in one moment they are back again and they can develop more. I believe in the boy.”