Memphis Depay Needs Patience from Manchester United

Memphis Depay has had a difficult start to his time at Manchester United and recently attracted some unflattering media coverage after criticism from two former Netherlands internationals.

Ex-Schalke midfielder Youri Mulder told Dutch broadcaster NOS (h/t Goal.com), "He played one good match for United, against Club Brugge. In the Premier League he suffers, yet his attitude suggests that he is a big star. It seems that people at Manchester United are starting to get fed up with this." 

Goal also quoted former Nottingham Forest and Celtic striker Pierre van Hooijdonk as saying, "The stats of Memphis do not weigh up against his attitude off the pitch. He hasn't been the player that Oranje needed, especially when (Arjen) Robben was unavailable."

Memphis' signing was a high-profile one, and being given United's No. 7 shirt catapulted him into the spotlight—as evidenced by reports such as this one from the Daily Express—that show his shirt is the third-highest selling in the game behind only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Of course, the 21-year-old has looked far from being the third-best player in the world. Indeed, bar his brace against Brugge and goal against former club PSV Eindhoven, he has had a minimal impact for United.

Memphis finally broke his Premier League duck by scoring against Sunderland, but his general performance in that game was hardly world-beating.

None of this should be particularly surprising. It is a huge step up from the Dutch league to the Premier League, with the gap in quality as wide as it has been for many years.

Peter Dejong/Associated Press

Settling into life at Manchester United is no mean feat, especially for a young player—witness Luke Shaw's struggles last season compared to his Southampton form or his displays this season for an example.

Memphis' fashion-conscious public image apparently led to a "dressing down" from Ryan Giggs, per Steve Bates of the Sunday People. The quote upon which the story was based cites "an insider" as saying, "Memphis is photographed out and about more than other players and that’s not gone unnoticed. He’s been told to keep his head down a bit while his football catches up with the rest of his profile."

Dressing down, then, may be too strong a term.

Indeed, as Joe Devine asked in a column for uMaxIt Football, "Is it possible that photographs of a young, particularly ambitious, lauded football player, playing for one of the world’s most successful clubs, and slightly struggling to meet the absurd expectations of a media-informed public, are worth more than photographs of other, less interesting football players?" 

OLI SCARFF/Getty Images

Memphis' real problem, in terms of perception of his performance so far and how he is settling in at United, though, is not the paparazzi. Rather it is the outstanding form of Anthony Martial.

The former PSV man arrived with a big reputation and, thus far, has not been able to live up to it. Martial arrived as a relative unknown and has lit up the Old Trafford stage.

However it is Memphis, rather than Martial who is fitting in to the natural order of things. The former's travails are the rule to which Martial is the exception.

Some of the criticism of Memphis' performances are entirely valid. He has indeed underperformed against expectations, and he has repeated similar mistakes—particularly holding on to the ball too long and trying to take on one too many defenders.

Louis van Gaal has started him for every game of the season, bar Ipswich in the League Cup, and perhaps he could have done with a rest or two. However, for a player of his age and profile, patience is the order of the day.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

His record in the Dutch league was abundant evidence of his talent, and that he has struggled with the step up should not be a metaphorical nail in the coffin of his career.

United fans need to be patient with Memphis. The rewards for that could be very rich indeed, and it is far too early to write him off.