Manchester United’s Premier League rivals, Newcastle United, have been offered the opportunity to sign Barcelona forward Memphis Depay.
Depay has widely been linked to United as a Cristiano Ronaldo replacement, as Erik ten Hag steps up his search for a reliable goalscorer.
Ronaldo’s bitter departure made the striker situation untenable, hence the constant links to Depay and other names like Cody Gakpo, Dusan Vlahovic and Rafael Leao.
Spanish publication Sport reports, “The last club to which the player [Depay] has been offered is Newcastle and the English team, coached by Eddie Howe, is very interested in taking over his services.”
“In fact, he already wanted to sign the Dutch attacker last summer, but the interests of the three parties did not converge.”
“In the near future, representatives of the English club will try to convince the player, who has been quite opposed to leaving the club this winter.”
Sport adds that the Blaugrana are hopeful of getting a fee for the Dutchman in the region of €10m-€15m.
The Newcastle option would appeal to Depay for a number of reasons. The Magpies have significant economic backing and have an ambitious project to become one of the big hitters in English football.
Sport’s report aligns with Marca, who indicate that the Catalan club have a decision on their hands with regard to whether they let Depay go or not.
Their reluctance could be fuelled by Robert Lewandoski’s unavailability for the club’s first three league games when La Liga returns after the Polish striker received a red card in the last game against Osasuna.
Xavi is however not short of options and could turn to Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati.
Barcelona will also be careful to take into account the United target’s feelings and sentiments.
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