Memphis Depay, Manchester United and EPL impatience

The English Premier League has become a world of instant gratification. With ever increasing, and more lucrative TV deals, the wealth of soccer’s richest league continues to spiral to levels that once would have been beyond club’s wildest dreams, and that has multiple knock on effects on the play that we see on the pitch.

From the top clubs to those at the bottom fighting off relegation, funds are more greatly available than ever before. This allows Premier League clubs the pick of many of the world’s best young players, the only problem is their prices tend to end up inflated. Take Memphis Depay, Manchester United’s young winger who signed for £25 million this summer, as an example.

Depay has spent the last couple of seasons touted as one of the most exciting prospects in world football, a label verified by his play in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup. Representing the Dutch national team under the stewardship of Louis Van Gaal, the man who is now his coach at club level, the 21-year-old was one of the stars of the competition.

As the Dutch made a strong, yet somewhat surprising run deep into that competition, Depay’s explosive pace, trickery and eye for goal were there for all to see. Memphis would finish the World Cup as part of a three man shortlist for Best Young Player.

It was natural that transfer rumors would instantly start swirling, but Depay would stay in Holland to continue developing his game for one more season.

What a season that was too. Memphis scored 22 goals to help guide PSV Eindhoven to an Eredivisie title, while finishing as the league’s top scorer in the process.

With his domestic league conquered, Depay moved on to perform at a bigger stage at Manchester United. After an impressive start to his career at Manchester United things have turned sour for Depay startlingly quickly though.

With the winger struggling for form, questions over his application and his lifestyle have become major storylines around the league.

There are a number of factors not helping Depay in terms of living up to the seemingly colossal expectations that are being placed on his shoulders though, and both of them come in the form of comparisons.

From fans, coaches and media alike, there’s an expectation as to how the youngster should be performing based on the benchmarks that have been established by others at Manchester United and other top clubs in the EPL. This is the results business after all, and an instant impact is a must.

This is what Depay’s expensive young teammate Frenchman Anthony Martial has provided. As opposed to his Dutch teammate who came in burdened by already having major performances at club and international football to his name, Martial was a much rawer talent.

So much so, that before he’d even kicked a ball in the red of Manchester United some were declaring him an enormous waste of money, based on his transfer fee which could potentially rise as high as £58 million based on future incentives.

If Martial hadn’t lit the world alight at his previous club AS Monaco, he hit the ground running at Manchester United anyway. The 19-year-old scored an incredible individual effort on his debut against bitter rivals Liverpool, and his return of five goals in 10 games has been impressive ever since.

In many ways, this has created an approach of “if he can do it, why can’t you” towards Depay. Perhaps that’s not the only unfair expectation being pushed on to the Dutchman either, as his shirt number has it’s own burdens to carry.

Throughout the pre-season games, Memphis wore the no.9 shirt for the Red Devils, but when the season itself rolled around and the numbers became official, he ended up with another more illustrious and iconic number instead.

Depay followed in the footsteps of George Best, Bryan Robson and David Beckham becoming the Old Trafford club’s new no.7. What could a shirt number mean you might ask? Well, at Manchester United that particular squad number is generally reserved for one of the best players at the club, and has a special resonance with the fans due to its role in the club’s history.

Most of all, it’s the shadow left by one of United’s most recent no.7s that looms large over Depay. I’m of course talking about Real Madrid superstar and current holder of the Ballon d’Or, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo brought the club back to the pinnacle of the game with that shirt on his back, but it seems to often get forgotten just how much he struggled to adjust to the English game early on.

People remember his impressive cameo debut over Bolton Wanderers when his full arsenal of trickery was on display, but they don’t reflect on how Ronaldo wasn’t always the sensation that he became.

While Depay gets criticized for only having scored one goal in the league so far since his move, it took Ronaldo until November 1 to get his first for the club, and in fact his first season only saw him score six total goals, with four of them coming in 29 league appearances.

The following season Ronaldo only upped that to five in the league, and nine overall, as adjusting to the pace and physicality of the Premier League proved to be a challenge for him.

If Depay is going to be compared to Ronaldo due his style of play and the number he wears on his back, should he not be held up against the same measures that the Portuguese star was during his early days at Old Trafford?

It’s not even November yet and Memphis already has four goals to his name having scored three times in the Champions League, including an impressive double against Club Brugge.

Legendary United winger, and current assistant manager Ryan Giggs has reportedly spoken to Depay about his attitude and work rate needing to improve, and that’s a conversation the youngster most definitely needed to have.

Arriving at a big club in a new league is a learning experience. Van Gaal chose to drop Depay from his starting lineup for three straight games following Manchester United’s disappointing 3-0 defeat to Arsenal, and that in itself should prove to be a lesson, and further fuel his hunger to succeed.

Dutch football legend and current Southampton manager Ronald Koeman rates the youngster very highly, and all he feels that it will take to get the best out of Memphis is patience.

"I think Depay, now at the moment, has a difficult time but that’s normal because he’s 21 and of course maybe the step to Manchester United in all respects is a difficult one and he needs more time."

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It’s no longer common place for fans, media or indeed coaches to afford young talent time to grow in the Premier League. It’s become a cut-throat world where everything must happen immediately.

If Manchester United don’t allow Depay the opportunity to learn, improve and flourish though; they could end up regretting it if he moves on to thrive elsewhere.

Of course, it’s unfair to hold Memphis Depay up to Cristiano Ronaldo’s standards right now, but if they hold him up to Ronaldo’s past, the potential for and path to development is clear for all to see.