Former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay has insisted that he would have succeeded under Jose Mourinho if the Portuguese gave him more game time.
The Dutchman was brought to the club by Louis van Gaal in May 2015 for around £25m following a sensational title-winning season with PSV Eindhoven, during which he claimed 21 goals, and showed early signs of promise at Old Trafford with an important brace against Club Bruges, alongside an excellent finish against his former club in September. But he struggled to impose himself for large parts of the season, unable to penetrate from the left hand side as Louis van Gaal’s men descended into a state of total creative deprivation.
Memphis was ultimately left out of Van Gaal’s FA Cup final squad and didn’t impress Jose Mourinho enough to figure in his plans last season, receiving just one start – against Northampton Town, where he was hooked off in the second half – and only 20 minutes of Premier League action before being sold to Lyon in January for around £21m.
And the 23-year-old, who has enjoyed greater success since arriving in Ligue 1, noted in an interview with French media outlet L’Equipe that Mourinho made a mistake by not giving him sufficient playing time.
“In the first season, I didn’t contribute enough,” he admitted.
“But I really believe you need a year to succeed in the Premier League, it’s the fastest league in the world. The second, I had my self-belief back, but I didn’t play.
“It’s then that you look at yourself in the mirror and you ask yourself a lot of questions: ‘Am I not good enough?’ It was really tough.
“To stay positive, you have to be very strong mentally. That experience made me grow up and is useful to me today.”
