Memphis Depay should have had a more lustrous career, given the talent and the numbers he put up when he was younger, terrorizing Eredivisie defenses in the PSV shirt. An unsuccessful trip to Manchester United followed by a revival at Olympique Lyon which earned him a call from the Camp Nou offices. Everyone expected Memphis to dominate La Liga under Ronald Koeman but the ‘gods of football’ had different plans.Xavi replaced the Dutch manager and kind of forgot he has Memphis at his disposal. The trouble for the offensive footballer is that his form did not help. Therefore, rumours of Memphis leaving Camp Nou started circulating and one of the interested to sign the 28-year-old are the London Gunners.Fri 21:45: (2.35) Belgium (3.40) Netherlands (3.25)Arsenal have been heavily tipped to make a move for him as Mikel Arteta looks to reinvigorate his front line, while Juventus are also said to be interested.The North Londoners are short on attacking options since they failed to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, while Alexandre Lacazette is set to leave the club when his contract expires this summer. Eddie Nketiah’s deal is also running out, with the Gunners offering the 23-year-old a new five-year contract worth in the region of 120,000-euros-per-week in one last desperate attempt to make him stay. Back to Barca and Depay. As the Catalans look to free up their wage bill, combined with Memphis’ unconvincing performances and constant injuries – the Dutchman is supposedly set to leave Camp Nou. However, there is a catch. Barcelona are not as willing to sell Depay that eagerly as he will only be allowed to leave if a replacement is lined up, according to Sport.Are Barcelona in trouble again? Players considered as ‘done deals’ far from putting pen to paperThe Spanish outlet claim adds that Xavi ‘appreciates the 28-year-old’s versatility’ and would be happy to keep him in his squad if he is unable to sign a new forward. Depay signed for Barcelona from Lyon last summer and started the season strongly, scoring eight goals in his first 15 LaLiga appearances. Depay has played all across Barca’s front three this season.However, hamstring and Achilles issues meant that he did not start a league game for four months between December and April. With January signings Ferran Torres and Aubameyang making instant impacts, Depay found it even harder to break back into the team. He did start three of the final four LaLiga matches though and finished the campaign with 13 goals in all competitions.I want to thank all the Barça fans for the 100 percent support this season.The results has been disappointing to all of us but nevertheless y’all stayed behind us and that will boost our confidence for next season! pic.twitter.com/juHarIE058— Memphis Depay (@Memphis) May 24, 2022 If he stays, the Catalan side would reportedly want to extend his contract so as not to risk him leaving for free when his current deal expires next summer. It is said that Depay is happy at the Nou Camp and would be quick to sign. ‘I came here at Barcelona with the desire to play for the team – and of course I want to feel important here for several years,’ Depay said earlier this month.
