Depay has a swipe back at Rooney after his criticism
MEMPHIS Depay has replied to criticism of his attitude at United from his former captain Wayne Rooney.
Rooney had recalled a time where Depay ignored his advice, which prompted the striker to question whether it was worth helping the Dutch international again.
The incident came after thenmanager Louis van Gaal instructed Depay to play for United’s reserve side, and Rooney tried to help his teammate before the game.
Rooney told The Times: “Memphis? He came on at Stoke away and messed up for their goal so Louis van Gaal made him play for the reserves the next day.”
“I said, ‘Look, it’s a bit difficult [for you]. Just don’t come in with all your fancy stuff.’ And he turned up for the reserve game in his Rolls-Royce, wearing a leather jacket and a cowboy hat. And I just thought, ‘What’s the point?’ But Memphis is a lovely lad and it’s good to see things going well for him now.”
Depay moved to Lyon in January 2017 and has rejuvenated his career and shown the form that prompted United to pay PSV Eindhoven £31m for in 2015.
And while the 24-year-old has clearly moved on from his time at United, his latest Instagram post indicates he thinks Rooney should do the same.
Depay posted an image of Rooney whispering something to him on the bench at Old Trafford alongside the caption: “Wayne: Mem... can you borrow me your red leather jacket for tonight please?”
The caption also included a devil emoji and the hashtag: “#ithoughtwewerepastthat.” JOSE Mourinho appears to have decided on Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof as his centre-back pairing, according to club great Gary Neville.
But, the former United right back believes Lindelof deserves his chance to prove his worth.
The Swedish international impressed at the World Cup, having failed to make much of an impact in his debut campaign last season and has started the last two games with Smalling in the centre of defence, and Neville would like to see him given a further chance to prove his worth.
Mourinho admitted at the start of the campaign that he did not know his best back four, but Neville thinks the United boss has now decided on his go to back two pairing after away wins against Burnley and Watford.
“I said earlier there wasn’t an obvious pair among them and now Jose has obviously settled by picking them again,” Neville told M.E.N. Sport. “I thought Chris’ goal (against Watford) was amazing and Lindelof needs a chance.
“United need to find out about him and yesterday will have been one of the more difficult, physical games for him to combat.”
Lindelof and Smalling dealt well with the threat from Burnley and Watford, conceding just one goal over the two games and Neville also believes Antonio Valencia has been key.
United have been accused of lacking leadership at times, especially in defence but Neville, who was a leader during his time at the club, thinks that’s not true.
“You can say that about any team now, that they lack leadership at the back,” Neville said. “But football is different and there aren’t as many players who are as vocal as there used to be. But Antonio Valencia is a leader by the way he has played over the last two or three seasons.
“So there are leaders within the team who can influence in different ways.”
And after two successive wins, United’s former right-back is hopeful Jose Mourinho’s side can start to climb up the Premier League table.
“It was a big win against Watford and I’m happy, and hopefully now United will start to climb,” Neville said.
“There’s a long way to go in the season with lots of peaks and troughs to come but the last couple of games have been good and I have enjoyed it.
“And, I actually enjoyed the first half against Tottenham, it was something that didn’t work out well in the end but I liked the way they played. They had a real energy and urgency to them which, is what you want to see.”
Neville was talking to M.E.N. Sport as he prepared to cycle 55km for Vimto to raise funds for Warrington Youth Club to celebrate their 110th birthday.
Neville was joined by former Class of ‘92 team-mate Ryan Giggs and 110 cyclists in Cheshire to tackle the challenge which raised £110,000.
“It’s been a fantastic day and great to see Vimto’s commitment to the local community, just as they support development of young football talent at the Salford City FC academy,” Giggs said.