Sometimes a move to a big club can come too soon. That certainly was the case for Memphis Depay when he swapped the red and white of PSV Eindhoven for the red and occasional black and white of Manchester United. His time in the Premier League was forgettable. He netted on just two occasions in the English top flight during the 2015/16 season and the man tipped by many to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s h...

The current Liverpool squad is the best the club has ever assembled during the Premier League era but the Reds lack real depth in one key area: attack. Beyond the front free of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, the options for manager Jürgen Klopp are limited at best. Daniel Sturridge has been left behind, with the team now looking completely different to the one he joined in 2013. He...

World Cup winners France lost, Belgium shipped five goals and England staged a stirring late comeback to record a dramatic victory over Croatia at Wembley. Yep, it was another immensely exciting weekend of action in the UEFA Nations League, the revamped qualification process that has breathed new life into international football in recent months. Of course, with goals and drama aplenty, there wer...

The riches on offer to Premier League sides able to attain the highest possible finish in the table means patience is typically in short supply in the English top flight. As such, clubs often spend big on a player considered the flavour of the month, the man they are sure will bolster their hopes of shooting up the table, only to then cast them aside and move on to the next shiny new transfer targ...

“I have been improving a lot,” Memphis Depay said last month, and few disagreed. “Not only on the pitch but as a person. I’ve become more mature.” That is clear for all to see. The Memphis Depay on show at Lyon – confident, driven, intelligent – is very different to the Memphis Depay who proved so disappointing at Manchester United. There is far more to the Dutchman’s game now. Where once he was...

It appeared Kevin De Bruyne would break the long-standing record for assists in a Premier League season until recently, so it will come as a major surprise to many to learn that the Belgian does not even make the top ten in Europe’s top five leagues for assists per 90 minutes for the 2017/18 campaign. The playmaker was a creative force of nature for Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s m...

Casual observers could be forgiven for thinking Memphis Depay isn’t very good. The Dutchman was, after all, a £25million flop at Manchester United. But this season the Dutch attacker has rediscovered the form which persuaded Louis van Gaal to bring him to Old Trafford in the first place. On Saturday the 24-year-old had a hand in every goal as Lyon thrashed bottom-of-the-pile Metz 5-0. Depay...

“You can’t win anything with kids.” The famous words Alan Hansen will never be allowed to forget, but in France, the reality is the complete opposite. Richer, more powerful clubs are always eyeing Ligue 1 for talent and it has become the norm for the best players to leave before they reach their prime. Which then hands promising youngsters the minutes they need to blossom into stars quicker than i...

As the January transfer window creaks open once again, leagues like Ligue 1 in France and Germany’s Bundesliga are awakening from their winter slumber, rather than coming out of the busiest period of games, like their English cousins. Ligue 1 sides joined the Coupe de France this weekend and league duties are about to resume. We thought it would be the perfect time to take a closer look at t...

Here at Football Whispers we’ve taken a look at this week’s in-form attackers to put together a list of players you could improve your FIFA Ultimate Team with. It might sound extreme to say signing these players could be the difference between winning and losing but that’s exactly the case. You’d be foolish not to make the most of these boosted ratings. Name: Mauro Icardi...

In April, former Manchester United flop Memphis Depay hit the headlines all over Europe when his wonderful half-way line lob for Lyon against Toulouse went viral. It was a stunning, opportunistic strike from the Dutch international and a moment that perfectly encapsulated just how far he has come in such a short space of time since his move away from Old Trafford. Oh. My. Word. Memphis Depay has...

On Monday morning, the Rhone-Alpes region of France woke up green. Saint-Etienne’s 2-0 victory over Olympique Lyonnais at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard gave Les Verts fans bragging rights and cast a huge shadow over Lyon’s season. A 70km drive separates the town stadiums in one of the fiercest rivalries in France, and with the win, Saint-Etienne are just a single point behind OL. Le Verts are the wo...

Dimitri Payet has gleefully burned the bridges between him and West Ham United as he seeks to hot-foot it back to France with Marseille. Despite signing a bumper five-year contract back in February – at a generous £125,000 per week – the Frenchman has decided to go on strike rather than spend another minute in east London. Devotion has quickly turned to disgust among Hammers fans but no matter the...

Seeing as Jose Mourinho has already stated that he expects Memphis Depay to leave Manchester United in January, it’ll be expected that a host of potential suitors will be all scrambling to secure his signature. On top of playing a total of just eight Premier League minutes this season, Mourinho’s strong comments on Depay’s situation would suggest there’s no way back for the...

During the closing hours of the summer transfer window, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur went to war for the signing of France international Moussa Sissoko. Many will suggest that Spurs lost the war when he agreed to move to White Hart Lane. The two clubs are reported to be close to clashing again, this time for the signature of Manchester United’s Dutch winger, Memphis Depay. Everton need someone to...

Picking up a point against Manchester United at Goodison Park should have been a reason for Everton fans to cheer last weekend. Yet the sight of £29 million pound signing Yannick Bolasie going off injured after 68 minutes overshadowed events on the pitch. The 27-year old winger has ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee, and the injury looks so bad that he could be out until 2018. With f...