Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly joined Barcelona in the race to sign Lyon superstar Memphis Depay over a possible January move.
According to Le Parisien, Barcelona’s pursuit of Memphis Depay could be complicated as Paris Saint-Germain have entered the fray to sign the Lyon attacker. The player is highly praised by some of the current PSG superstars including Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, which could play a key role in driving the French club’s interest.
Depay was strongly linked with Barcelona in the summer but a move failed to materialise. However, with his Lyon contract expiring at the end of the season, the Dutchman is set to attract a lot of interest within the coming month.
The Catalans do remain the favourites given the player’s strong relationship with Ronald Koeman as they used to work together in the Netherlands national team. In addition, the Catalan giants are also allowed to hold talks with Depay in January over a potential pre-contract agreement – something PSG cannot do as the winger plays for league rivals, Lyon.
PSG could, however, discuss a potential move in January by agreeing a fee with Les Gones. Unfortunately for them, it is something Barcelona could try as well, given their imminent need for a winger following the injury of not only Ansu Fati but also Ousmane Dembele, whose failed move to Manchester United in the summer presumably had a lot to do with Barcelona missing out on the Lyon star.
Nevertheless, the Dutchman could prove to be an excellent addition to the Barcelona attack. He can provide competition for Philippe Coutinho, whose form has faded following an impressive start to the campaign, as well as youngsters like Pedri and Francisco Trincao.
More importantly, Depay arguably offers better coverage in the number nine slot – a position Koeman is yet to fill following the departure of Luis Suarez, although his former understudy Martin Brathwaite has done a reasonable job so far.
For PSG, the addition of Depay would offer more competition to Pablo Sarabia and Angel Di Maria while the injury-prone nature of former Barcelona superstar Neymar is already well documented.
But, as mentioned earlier, Barcelona do have a clear advantage in this transfer saga and the only beacon of hope for Thomas Tuchel is that the Catalans shift their attention towards other transfer targets, which is not far-fetched as the club has been constantly linked with a move for long-term target Lautaro Martinez.
