United turns down Lyon bid for Depay
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, January 15, 2017
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Memphis Depay. |
Manchester United has rejected a bid from Lyon for winger Memphis Depay, saying yesterday it was "far from being reasonable".
The 22-year-old Depay has been unable to secure a regular spot in the team since joining United from PSV Eindhoven in June 2015 for 31 million pounds (then US$48 million). Since United manager Jose Mourinho took charge this season, the Netherlands international has only started one game in the League Cup.
"The offer that we had is far from being reasonable for us," Mourinho said. "So in this moment he is our player and if at the end of the month nothing happens he is one more option for us."
Both United and Lyon are pushing to break into the UEFA Champions League places in their respective domestic competitions. Lyon is fourth in its standings, five points behind Paris Saint-Germain, and determined to land Depay.
"It takes time, discussions, because buying a player now isn't easy," Lyon coach Bruno Genesio said. "I've made Memphis Depay my priority. He is a powerful player, strong, who is capable of scoring and making goals and good at free kicks."
On Thursday, Everton completed the signing of another United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin for a fee that could rise to 24 million pounds, the Merseyside club announced on Thursday.
The 27-year-old France international was signed from Southampton for 25 million pounds in 2015, but became a peripheral figure under Mourinho, making only eight appearances this season.
He said in a club statement that he was relishing the prospect of being reunited with Everton manager Ronald Koeman, with whom he worked for one season at Southampton.
"There is a manager in place here that I know, I know he can get the best out of me, I know his style and how he likes to play football. He was very good with me from the start and I enjoyed playing football under him," Schneiderlin said.
Everton said the midfielder had signed a 4-1/2-year deal for an initial 20-million pound fee, which could rise to 24 million.
Schneiderlin's move has enabled fellow midfielder Tom Cleverley, 27, to join Watford on loan with a view to a permanent transfer.
Meanwhile, manager Arsene Wenger has played down the link between his own future at Arsenal and that of Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil.
Wenger, who is out of contract at the end of the season, said Ozil was "misinterpreted" in an interview in Germany this week, in which the playmaker said he would wait to see if his manager was staying on before committing to the club.
Ozil and Chile striker Alexis Sanchez are in the final 18 months of their contracts at Arsenal and both players have been in prolonged negotiations over an extension.
"I think he (Ozil) has been a bit misinterpreted," Wenger told a news conference yesterday when asked about the player's comments to German football magazine Kicker.
"He would like to know what happens on the managerial front of course, but I don't think that is the main part of his decision. It is part of it, but it's not the only thing."
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