MANCHESTER UNITED have no intention of using their buy-back option on Memphis Depay, according to reports.
The ex-Old Trafford winger, who endured a miserable two-year spell at the club from 2015, looks set to join Barcelona from Lyon.
Depay looks to be on his way to Barcelona with Man Utd opting not to bring him backCredit: AFP or licensors
Former Holland manager Ronald Koeman looks set to be reunited with the Dutch star after a £28million fee was reportedly agreed.
Depay, 26, was the Nou Camp club’s priority target, it has been claimed, and will travel for his medical in the coming days.
If all goes well then he should be available for Barca’s opening game of the LaLiga season against Villarreal on September 27.
But it appears United have shown no interest in activating the buy-back clause they inserted into Depay’s deal when he joined Lyon in 2017, talkSPORT say.
And it looks like they could have missed out on a winner given Depay’s electrifying start this season.
He bagged a hat-trick in Lyon’s 4-1 opening-day thrashing of Dijon and last season scored a combined 15 goals in Ligue 1 and the Champions League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s No 1 target remains Jadon Sancho but talks with Dortmund show little sign of making a breakthrough.
SunSport told you United chiefs are ready to take Gareth Bale on loan after losing patience with their pursuit of Sancho.
United want to take the Real Madrid star on loan for a season initially but with the option to renegotiate that for a further year.
Bale, 31, has two years left on his current £650,000-a-week Real Madrid contract.
He would have to take a wage cut with United and Real may even have to pay part of it.
Real could demand an upfront transfer fee of £18.5million rather than a loan.
United won’t bring back Depay but are ready to land BaleCredit: Reuters
But United are now seriously looking into all options.
The news has left Sancho sweating as he was convinced his switch from Borussia Dortmund to Old Trafford would go through this summer or in the New Year window.
Bale – frozen out by Bernabeu boss Zinedine Zidane – has scored 105 goals in 251 games for Real Madrid.
Depay meanwhile has notched 57 goals in 140 appearances for Lyon and will look to breathe new life into a struggling Barcelona side.
Olympique Lyonnais star Memphis Depay shows off his physique as he works out at his luxury villa
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
