According to reports from Mirror Football yesterday evening, Manchester United will win the race for Liverpool target Memphis Depay with a £25million bid this summer.
The PSV prodigy, often compared to a young Cristiano Ronaldo, has been in stunning form since his impressive World Cup campaign with the Netherlands last summer, going on to claim 25 goals in 34 appearances – including 19 strikes in the Eredivisie – and manager Phillip Cocu is already resigned to letting him leave for a top European club at the end of the season, as This Is Futbol informed you last weekend.
Despite his obvious connections with Louis van Gaal through the Oranje set-up, Dutch football expert Mark van der Kraan views Liverpool as the front-runners in the race for his signature – as This Is Futbol revealed earlier this month – having made their presence and interest felt by sending scouts to watch the 21 year-old in action on almost a weekly basis this season.
However, reports from Mirror Football now claim the Red Devils will win the battle for Depay. They’re prepared to meet PSV’s asking price of £25million; Liverpool, on the other hand, are only prepared to pay £20million.
Whether that obliges Liverpool to seek potential alternatives such as Barcelona’s Pedro, who has been mooted with an Anfield this summer – as reported by us at This Is Futbol – remains to be seen.