Everton have been monitoring Memphis Depay’s progress with Lyon, and attempted to sign the Dutchman in the summer, according to The Athletic.
The Toffees were first interested in signing the 25-year old during his time at Manchester United, whom he left in 2017 to join Ligue 1 outfit Lyon.
The Athletic quote Ronald Koeman from a press conference in the winter of 2017, where the former Everton boss admitted to have attempted to sign Depay, saying:
I like the player and we tried but we couldn’t reach an agreement.
Everton were said to have been unaffected by Depay’s unwillingness to move to Goodison Park, with Marcel Brands known to be an admirer of the Netherlands international.
The Athletic claim that preliminary discussions were held with Depay and his representatives in the summer, however Everton’s lack of European football ultimately prevented Marco Silva from bringing the star goalscorer to Merseyside.
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The Athletic go on to claim that Memphis’ anterior cruciate ligament injury in December, which prematurely ended his season, ultimately ended any hope of Everton revisiting a deal to sign the forward this month, and that is a huge shame.
The Dutchman has proven himself to be a top goalscorer since moving to France, scoring 19 league goals and assisting 13 in 36 Ligue 1 games (Transfermarkt) in his first season at the Groupama Stadium.
Depay was slightly less successful in his second season, scoring 10 goals and assisting 10 in 36 in the league, while he was on track to top that tally this season, having scored nine goals in 13 league games before his injury.
Memphis can play as both a winger and as a lone forward, and that versatility would have been ideal for a side that are low in offensive depth. Still, it is still positive to see that Everton were monitoring a top target. Now if they could go out and actually sign one, that would be grand.
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