Memphis Depay - Player Analysis

Memphis Depay has been on Barcelona’s radar ever since Koeman was appointed as the manager. Getting him on a free transfer is some brilliant piece of business, but can he fit in at Barcelona? He does have the star quality, but his positioning is a slight concern. Koeman is the main reason behind the transfer and his insistence on signing Memphis is important to note. There are positive signs early on, with Memphis scoring 2 goals for Barcelona in his first 2 games. There are many pros and cons for this transfer, and I will be analysing it all.

The Pros

The Koeman Factor

Ever since Ronald Koeman has been at the club as manager, he has been adamant upon the signing of Memphis Depay. He has of course worked with Memphis for the Dutch National team. One of the major reasons why Memphis chose Barcelona is Koeman. Koeman does know him very well. For the Netherlands, he got the best out of Memphis by playing him as the number 9 while making him drop deep to receive the ball. Of course, at Barcelona he won’t have that role, but as we have seen with Frenkie De Jong, Koeman tends to switch up his tactics. Although De Jong was playing as a part of the double pivot for the Dutch, Koeman moulded him into a box-to-box interior. Memphis doesn’t usually contribute much to the press, but in Pre-Season we have seen him be tireless. We have also seen him playing more as a proper number 9 or a left winger making runs rather than in a free role. It’s clear that Memphis is ready to adapt to whatever Koeman says. With Koeman craving for Depay for long, we can have faith in him to deliver.   

Exceptional Form

Memphis is coming to Barcelona off of a brilliant season with Lyon. Making 37 appearances in Ligue 1, he scored 20 goals and provided a further 12 assists. Monstrous numbers for someone arriving on a free transfer and in general. He was of course the main man up top as he was playing as the false nine and was taking penalties. With Messi, Griezmann, Ansu Fati and Aguero at the club, we can not expect such numbers from Memphis alone as he will be just a part of the team rather than the focal point. His underling numbers were brilliant as well with 2.5 dribbles, 2.6 key passes and 3 shots per 90. His passes into the final third, passes into the penalty area and crosses into the penalty area all ranked in the top 5% among forwards. His shot creating actions and goal creating actions also stodd at a very high 4.9 and 0.8 per 90. He did play as the false nine leading to some exceptional creative numbers. Hopefully he can carry some of the creative burden for Barcelona as well but we’ll have to see how he adapts in a different role.

The Low-Risk and High-Reward Transfer

With the plethora of forward options available to Barcelona, Memphis did seem some what of a luxury signing. But when such a quality player comes on a free its hard to resist. Memphis has also arrived on very low wages and has agreed a contract of 2 years with a further year available to extend. This is of course, music to the ears of Barcelona fans, as we have seen how hard it is shift off players on high wages and long contracts. All these factors make Memphis a very affordable and low risk transfer. Depay is a seasoned international and a brilliant player as discussed above. He is also in the prime of his career and has what it takes to succeed at Barcelona. If he can perform at the levels he did at Lyon, Barcelona have a absolute baller on their team.

The Cons

Excess of Forward Options

Barcelona has a lot of options for the attacking trio. But maybe its just a bit too many options. Messi and Griezmann will be looking the starting spot. Considering the low wage contracts, Depay and Aguero will be expecting to get appearances but might not be inarguable starters. Ansu Fati and Dembele are injured but will be the main options on the wing when they return. The likes of Yusuf Demir, Collado and Trincao don’t have a proper path to the first team, leading to them going out on loan or staying with Barca B. And of course, there is Martin Braithwaite. Players are bound to be unhappy with their game time and this does negatively affect the squad morale. The Laporta-Barca way of instilling faith in youngsters doesn’t seem to be in place yet. Several do think of the Memphis signing as an unnecessary transfer. The forward line will surely be causing some selection headaches to Koeman.

Positioning

The biggest problem, by far, is Memphis Depay’s positioning. He did play in a free role for Lyon and the Netherlands. He has the licence to roam, drop deep and pick up the ball. He has been the focal point of his team. But at Barcelona, Messi occupies that role. We have seen the likes of Coutinho and Griezmann who also had similar free roles at Liverpool and Atletico Madrid struggle to play with Messi and adapt their roles. Last season, we had the problem of Griezmann and Messi dropping into similar positions to receive the ball and dictate play. Memphis doing the same wouldn’t allow the forward line to function. The Pre-Season friendlies though, do show some positive signs. We did see Memphis play more as the Number 9 or making diagonal runs from the left wing. He was constantly making runs in behind the defence causing real problems. His goal against Stuttgart is an example of that as De Jong found him with a long ball and before you knew it, he was in behind and had scored. Griezmann and Memphis showed brilliant ability to combine, with both interchanging roles during the game. Memphis was out on the left making runs in behind, while Griezmann dictated play. While Memphis dropped deep to receive the ball, Griezmann was the one making the run. Memphis also showed his ability to hold up play, as this was what led to the Yusuf Demir goal. Memphis held the ball at the edge of the box, found Griezmann on the overlap, who delivered the ball in for Demir to tap in. If Memphis can build on this role where he makes the runs in behind, he would surely be relishing the service of Messi.

There you have it, the Memphis Depay - Player Analysis. This was, of course a different kind of blog post covering the pros and cons rather than delving into the numbers. Hopefully it was a good read. Comment down below what you think Memphis will bring to Barcelona, share the content and why not check out my suggestions for Realistic Transfers this summer for Barcelona, if you haven’t already. Thanks for stopping by, I hope to see you back soon and remember its more than a blog.