A gentle reminder: Manchester United inserted a buy-back option when Memphis Depay moved to Lyon last January.
Arriving after being the star player for PSV Eindhoven’s title-winning side of 2015, the Dutch winger never managed to replicate the same kind of form during his 18-month stint at Old Trafford. Dropped from the starting lineup by Louis van Gaal relatively early on in his first (and only) full season with the club, he never managed to hold down a regular place in the team from that point onwards.
Eventually, he was moved on by Jose Mourinho midway through last season – although the possibility of a return to United was not completely closed off. Instead, United insisted on a buy-back clause, Mourinho explaining that at 22, the player was still young enough to get his career back on track.
Although he showed the odd flash of something special during the remainder of last season, there are now signs that Depay is rediscovering some of the form that convinced Van Gaal to bring him to United in the first place.
A scorer of the Netherlands’ opener against Scotland on Thursday evening, this goal meant that (as pointed out by Sky Sports) Depay had managed eight in his last nine outings for club and country – a tally that bettered the seven goals he managed for United.
Memphis Depay has scored more goals in his last 9 apps for club & country (8) than in his 53 apps for @ManUtd (7) #SCONET pic.twitter.com/c4FiZb9D4r
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) November 9, 2017
If that kind of scoring form continues, who knows, perhaps United fans may not have seen the last of him in their club’s colours?
