Memphis Depay Insists He Would Have Succeeded at Man Utd if Jose Mourinho Played Him More

Lyon winger Memphis Depay believes he would have succeeded at Manchester United had he been given more game time by Jose Mourinho.

After a poor first season at Old Trafford, in which the Netherlands international managed just seven goals in 45 appearances, Depay was sold to Lyon in January earlier this year.

Unable to win the trust of Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho, Depay was moved on but maintains that he would have been a success had he been given more minutes on the pitch.

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"In the first season, I didn’t contribute enough," he told L'Equipe.

"But I really believe you need a year to succeed in the Premier League, it’s the fastest league in the world. The second, I had my self-belief back, but I didn’t play.

"It’s then that you look at yourself in the mirror and you ask yourself a lot of questions: ‘Am I not good enough?’ It was really tough.

"To stay positive, you have to be very strong mentally. That experience made me grow up and is useful to me today."

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United splashed out £25m in 2015 on Depay, who scored 22 goals in 30 Eredivise appearances for PSV during the 2014-15 season.

This season, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have played behind United  striker Romelu Lukaku, who joined from Everton earlier in the transfer window.

United are currently top of the Premier League by virtue of goal difference, while Lyon are third in Ligue 1, winning twice and drawing once, with Depay scoring a goal and assisting two others.