Memphis Depay

Birdy

Birdy

Senior Member
Olympique Lyonnais are ready to sell Memphis Depay for just 5 million euros in January. [l'equipe via sport]

Ok, seriously we should not let this one slip in January. It's one of the few affordable players that can offer something.
We are clearly sort of players who can stretch the pitch vertically and horizontally, that's why Braithwaite has come to be a starter.
Stop dreaming about Haaland.
 
J

JamDav1982

Senior Member
Not what Barca should be looking for normally but there is not a 9 in the squad. Braithwaite is not it and cant go til end of season with him.

Worst case scenario sell him for a profit most likely.
 
Birdy

Birdy

Senior Member
He is not a 10 mate. He is a former winger made into a 9. He can play both positions we are lacking players atm.

Yes, he is not the top-notch quality we should be looking, but atm when we are broke he is ideal
 
L

Laplacian

Senior Member
He is a striker in the same sense that Messi and Griemann are strikers. He is a former winger converted into a striker paired with another striker in Moussa Dembele, where the former is much more of a supporter and plays off the other one than the latter does. Does that not sound familiar to you? "Oh but we'll convert him to a pure number 9, don't worry."

His heatmap:

https://ligue1analysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-04-at-10.12.24-AM.png

"In the 19 club matches he played, Depay contributed with 16 goals (14 goals and two assists). Not only the stats, but Depay was central to Lyon’s attack, and his attacking intensity was second to none. He would usually drop in between the lines to collect the ball, and with his incredible dribbling skills, he created chances from almost nothing."

https://ligue1analysis.com/memphis-depay-2019-20-data-analysis-statistics/analysis/data-analysis/

Like to drop deep, collect the ball, and bring others into play. Relies a lot on his dribbling, playmaking, but is also a reliable goal threat. Seriously, does this not look familiar to you at all?

Maybe if we had a Moussa Dembele [or a Haaland] I'd go for it, but really he'd be the 3rd type of his playstyle in the club. We should be looking to cutting off players to balance the squad's formation, not bloating it with a surplus of second strikers in the front line in hopes that you can convert them into pure 9s.

Trying the exact same thing the 3rd time in a row and expecting different results...
 
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M

mc_lovin

Senior Member
Laplacian said:
He is a striker in the same sense that Messi and Griemann are strikers. He is a former winger converted into a striker paired with another striker in Moussa Dembele, where the former is much more of a supporter and plays off the other one than the latter does. Does that not sound familiar to you? "Oh but we'll convert him to a pure number 9, don't worry."

Trying the exact same thing the 3rd time in a row and expecting different results.
Click to expand...

Nope, he actually has a physical presence. And yes, hes not a pure #9, but much closer than anything we have. Ideally we should have 2 CFs anyway, and Depay wouldnt be the worst one keeping in mind we badly need a substitute for Fati as well.
 
Birdy

Birdy

Senior Member
He plays as a 9 in the Dutch NT with 2 other wingers on the left and right.
Koeman obviously wants to re-enact that, and not Lyon's 4-4-2
 
L

Laplacian

Senior Member
Birdy said:
He plays as a 9 in the Dutch NT with 2 other wingers on the left and right.
Koeman obviously wants to re-enact that, and not Lyon's 4-4-2
Click to expand...

He has played less than 10 games as a striker for the NT LOL. The majority of his career he has played as a winger or a SS for the Dutch NT.

Also NT level sucks in comparison to Club level, which gives managers and players more freedom to try out "unconventional" roles that would otherwise not work in the club level. Coutinho worked as a CM for Brazil prior to Barcelona's purchase, does he work as a CM for Barcelona? Pogba works as a deep lying playmaker for France, does he work for United?

ALSO

Before that, Memphis had not played as a striker for Lyon except on one occasion against Bastia. Koeman took the risk and played Memphis up front against Portugal – the same Portugal that had won the EURO that the Netherlands had missed out on entirely. The Dutch won 3-0 and Memphis capped an impressive display with a goal.

Before the Portugal match, Memphis Depay had scored 8 goals and assisted 7 in 34 international matches matches. In the 14 games under Koeman, he has the same figures – 8 goals and 7 assists – averaging more than one goal or assist in every participation.

Whatever qualms anyone could find in his performances with Lyon, they disappear with the Netherlands. Even when his performances are subpar, he is decisive. In the Nations League semi-final, England sought to subdue Memphis, but they could not stop him being a catalyst in all three Dutch goals.

To their credit, the Portuguese had figured out how to mute their opponent’s only striker. As soon as Memphis was silenced, so were the Netherlands. Just as Memphis was integral in the Netherlands’ gameplan against England, so was his inefficacy against Portugal detrimental to the Netherlands.

At first glance, it seemed like Memphis was having another off-day, like the many others he had had with Lyon. However, what was really afoot was that Ronald Koeman had been found out.

When Koeman designated Memphis as a striker, he did give him a traditional role even if, on paper, Memphis was the only striker in 4-2-3-1 formations deployed in the Nations League finals. In reality, he played as a false nine, dropping deep to pick up the ball in midfield and construct attacks from there. As a result, many of his touches against England did not come in the final third, but in midfield.

The effect of Koeman’s plan was best on display when England, after conceding the equalizer, started seeking a goal. Enough space started opening up for Memphis to express himself. However, what is most damning in Koeman’s plan is what happened before that, while the Dutch were trailing.

Against Portugal, Memphis’ two worlds collided. With the Netherlands now a more powerful force, the opponents sat deep, as is often the case with Lyon. Unsurprisingly, the Netherlands struggled to create chances against Portugal, but it was not for lack of trying. Memphis adapted and differently from the match against England, he attempted no fewer than 7 crosses.

What does that make Memphis? The Nations League campaign showed us that the Dutchman is not quite a striker and not quite a playmaker, but somewhere in the middle. He is a false 9 that thrives not only with freedom, but most importantly in space, something that is not often generously given to Lyon.
Click to expand...

Although Koeman initially experimented with him as a striker, other teams quickly found out how to shut Depay down and he evolved into his more optimal play style and played as a false 9 in the subsequent matches.

Heatmaps in two crucial games:

https://lyonoffside.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/nedeng-memphis-heatmap.png

https://lyonoffside.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/porned-memphis-heatmap.png

https://lyonoffside.com/2019/07/22/dr-memphis-and-mr-depay-the-two-faces-of-lyons-dutchman/

Even for the Dutch NT, he likes to drop deep, collect the ball, and play in the areas between midfielders and a striker. So for Lyon he's supported by a striker when he plays as an SS, and for the Dutch NT he plays as a false 9. It seems that once people's minds have been made in regards to a transfer, heat maps, stats, squad history, and so on no longer matters. There are 3 hybrid forwards in this team, 2 of them being support striker, and you still want to buy another because you think you can convert him with no substantial evidence to support that it would succeed.
 
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