Transfer Rumour: Paris Saint-Germain join race for Manchester United outcast Memphis Depay

This January, the top priority on the Manchester United agenda is to cut loose some of the players who don’t seem to have a place in Jose Mourinho’s plans for the club.

We have already seen French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin transfer to Everton for an initial fee of £22 million which could rise to £24 million. United have recouped the money they spent on bringing in the player, and they could be set to do the same with another signing from the Louis Van Gaal era.

The Sun report that French giants Paris Saint-Germain have registered a solid interest in Dutch winger Memphis Depay. The report claims that the director of football at PSG Patrick Kluivert, rates the player very highly and could oversee a coup for the player.

Kluivert has previously worked under former United boss Louis van Gaal, who brought Depay to Old Trafford, so the interest in the highly rated 22-year-old is hardly surprising.

PSG have already snapped up a brilliant young attacking midfielder in Julian Draxler, and the signing of Depay would add further star-power and attacking flair to a team that is still reeling from the loss of the iconic Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who joined Manchester United this past summer.

Manchester United will be very pleased to hear of PSG’s interest. Depay has hardly featured under the Jose Mourinho regime, and the 22-year-old is far behind the pecking order in an already competitive race for a start in attack.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney are all competing for places in the attacking set-up, and it’s difficult to see Depay preferred over any one of them.

Manchester United seem ready to let Depay go, but a big issue here is the transfer fee. The Red Devils paid PSV Eindhoven a reported £25 million, and they will be hoping to recoup most, if not all of that fee.

The Dutchman is just 22 years old and is still one of the most highly rated young players in Europe. However the offers coming in for Depay aren’t coming close to the transfer fee they themselves had to shell out, with the most serious contenders Olympique Lyon bidding just £13 million.

If PSG convert their interest into action, Manchester United will hope to receive a solid bid near the £25 million mark from one of the richest clubs in Europe.