English giants Manchester United have agreed a fee reported to be €30m (£22m) with Dutch side PSV Eindhoven for striker Memphis Depay with the player of Ghanaian descent set to join the club in the summer, subject to a medical.
Manchester United have agreed a fee reported to be €30m (£22m) with PSV Eindhoven for Memphis Depay with the player set to join the club in the summer, subject to a medical.
The deal, as reported by the Guardian last month, was announced on the Dutch side’s official Twitter feed on Thursday morning and confirmed on their official website. “PSV and Manchester United have reached an agreement on the transfer of Memphis,” said the statement.
">May 7, 2015
“Memphis has also reached an agreement with Manchester United,” it added. “Marcel Brands [PSV Eindhoven’s sporting director] emphasised that all the necessary paperwork must first be dealt with in the coming days and that the player must undergo a medical examination.”
“We are very proud of this upcoming transfer, which came in a huge momentum,” said Brands. “Memphis has gone through all the teams of the PSV youth academy and has played an important part in the national title this year.
“He’s a wonderful exponent of our training and will make a nice transition to a magnificent club in a beautiful competition. We obviously lose a fantastic player, which is of great value to the team. But PSV grants him this wonderful step.”
A statement on the Manchester United website also confirmed the transfer. “Manchester United has reached agreement with PSV Eindhoven and Memphis Depay for the player’s transfer, subject to a medical, once the transfer window opens in June.”
Depay, who has scored 49 goals in 122 appearances for PSV, joined the Dutch club’s youth team in 2006 and signed his first professional contract in 2012. His breakthrough season came a year after that when PSV finished fourth in the Eredivisie. This season the 21-year-old has been a key figure as PSV won their first title in seven years.
Depay has long been viewed as one of the hottest properties around Europe and securing his signature will be seen as a scoop for Louis van Gaal and the club. He was a regular for Holland under Van Gaal, who handed Depay his international debut against Turkey in October 2013, and he scored twice during last year’s World Cup in Brazil, meaning he is the youngest Dutchman ever to do so in the competition.
“I always say; Dream, Believe, Achieve,” tweeted Depay, who has the phrase tattooed on his torso. “I was dreaming and believing of becoming the champions of the Eredivisie with PSV and we achieved it.
“I’m extremely grateful towards @PSV, all the fans, (sponsors) @UnderArmour and (agents)@SEG_Football for believing in me. Now it’s time to set my goals again on winning trophies with @ManUtd.”
“It was an exciting and pretty hectic period, and to have a choice between so many top clubs doesn’t make it any easier,” Depay added on his Facebook page. “For me, Manchester United is an absolute dream club, so I didn’t need any convincing [from] the guys who already play at Manchester United.”
The rest of the PSV Eindhoven squad were informed of the 21-year-old’s deal at training by their manager, Phillip Cocu. It is understood that Depay is free to play the final two matches of the season before completing his move to Old Trafford. Once the move is finalised Depay will become the fourth player to move from PSV to United following in the footsteps of Jaap Stam, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Park Ji-sung.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010
Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.