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Spanish LaLiga giants FC Barcelona have announced the signing of Dutch international Memphis Depay from Olympique Lyonnais.
27 year old Moordrecht-born Memphis Depay started out at his hometown club VV Moordrecht. He was just nine when he joined Sparta Rotterdam, and from there moved on to PSV Eindhoven, which is where he made his Eredivisie debut. Coached by former Barça man Phillip Cocu, Depay soon became one of the biggest stars at Eindhoven.
His performances in the Dutch championship attracted attention abroad, and it was Manchester United who eventually signed him. At Old Trafford, and playing under Louis Van Gaal, he spent a season and a half before heading for Olympique Lyonnais in January 2017.
It was in France that he made his breakthrough. Highlights of his five and a half seasons included reaching the Champions League semifinals and the Coupe de France Final in 2019/20, losing the latter on penalties to PSG.
He quickly became a regular for the Holland national team, where he has played under Ronald Koeman, and was in the side that finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He has already got on the scoresheet at the current Euro 2020.
Born in Holland to a Ghanaian father and Dutch mother, he is a versatile forward. He tends to play on the left and can also work as a centre forward, but far from being a target man, he also likes to play a part in the build-up. He oozes skill and has a fine shot, and his physical strength makes him hard to deal with in the one-on-one.
His 22 goals made him top goalscorer in the Dutch league in 2014/15, his highest scoring season to date. But he came close to matching that tally in his final year in Lyon, scoring 20 times and finishing second in the charts. Where Depay truly excels is with assists – delivering 12 last season in France.
