Reports from Dutch magazine Voetbal have suggested that Memphis Depay did not become a Liverpool player because we pulled out of the deal…
The story says that we were interested in the attacker, and that we were in pole position to sign him, until we changed our minds and allowed first PSG and then Man United to take the lead in the chase for his signature.
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The winger had become one of Europe’s hottest properties, after a stunning season guided his current side PSV Eindhoven to the Eredivisie title. The 21-year-old was the league’s top goalscorer, bagging 22 goals, three clear of his teammate Luuk de Jong.
The Daily Mail reported that the Netherlands international ended one of the summer’s earliest transfer sagas last week, by completing a £25m move to our Premier League rivals Manchester United.
We were pretty miffed, especially as Brendan Rodgers suggested that we were not after the player once the deal had been done, according to The Guardian.
But, Voetbal International claimed that Depay was ready to pick Anfield over Old Trafford, before we decided that our transfer priorities changed at the last minute.
The injury to Daniel Sturridge, as well as the number of options already in Depay’s position, meant that buying a striker in the summer has become our main concern. And, to find one of Premier League standard, we will have to spend a large amount of money. Unfortunately, the £25m that United ended up spending on the Depay would represent a sizeable amount of our transfer kitty. Buying the Dutchman, when we already have a cluster of wingers, and not going after a forward, would be perhaps naive.