New Signing Depay

Five facts about Manchester United's prospective new signing Memphis Depay

Manchester United has reached an agreement with PSV Eindhoven for the transfer of Memphis Depay, one of the most sought-after young prospects in European football. But who exactly is he? Here, we present five facts about the much-discussed Dutchman…

Born in Moordrecht, 13/02/94: Depay is the son of a Ghanaian father and Dutch mother, and was born in the southern Dutch down of Moordrecht, where he played for local team VV Moordrecht before his desire to succeed as a professional led to him joining PSV at the age of 12. His late grandfather was a great influence on him and Depay has words dedicated to him tattooed down this left arm. “That man gave me a lot of strength,” he once explained.

Won the Euro U17 Championship in 2011: At 16 he was called up to represent the Netherlands at Under-17 level and was later part of Holland’s European U17 Championship winning squad of 2011, even scoring in the final as Holland beat Germany 5-2. “Memphis is one of the greatest talents of the Netherlands, a very passionate and ambitious guy too," explained PSV technical manager Marcel Brands. "If he continues his development in this way, the club is going to have a lot of fun with him around."

Scored 42 goals in 104 games for PSV:Depay netted within 20 minutes of his senior debut in 2011 in an 8-0 destruction of VVSB Noordwijkerhout in the Dutch Cup. His Eredivisie debut came at 18 in the last minute of a 3-2 win over Feyenoord in 2012. In total, he has scored 42 goals in 104 appearances and won the Eredivisie title late last month. A fast, tricky winger with a direct style, he can also play as a striker and has often been compared to Arjen Robben and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Holland’s youngest World Cup scorer: Depay has 15 international caps and impressively scored twice at last summer’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil. His first goal, against Australia in a 3-2 win for Holland, made him the youngest-ever Dutch goalscorer in a World Cup, surpassing the previous record set by Boudewijn Zenden at France 1998. The 21-year-old followed that up with another strike in a 2-0 win over Chile.

Memphis has mates in Manchester: Louis van Gaal gave Depay his international debut on 15 October 2013 when the United boss was in charge of the Dutch national team and he has a strong bond with the player. Of course, when the transfer is completed, Memphis can look forward to linking up with his compatriots Robin van Persie and Daley Blind at the Aon Training Complex.