‘King of the streets’ Depay will make it at Man Utd says mentor

Published on: 25 November 2015

Memphis Depay's former mentor has backed the winger to be a star at Manchester United.


Richard Grootscholten worked closely with Depay at Sparta Rotterdam when the 21-year-old Holland international was just a nine-year old boy.

He saw Depay grow from a selfish boy into a man who wanted to give his all for the team and is confident he has the qualities to become a top player at Old Trafford.

"He was the king of the streets, he had his own way of doing things. He tried to be independent," he told the Daily Mail.

"He was a goalscorer and also very selfish. He had always played with a small circle of friends and now had to fit into a team. He had energy and was technically strong.

"He always played in teams with older boys, which was good for him. There was a higher quality and it was better from a social point of view."

Grootscholten, now a consultant at Academy Associates, added: "It is unbelievable what he has done given that price label. This is someone definitely not afraid to step out in front of 75,000 fans.

"He is zero per cent nervous in every situation.

"He will get better, there are going to be ups and downs. Van Gaal withdrew him for a while to get him out of the attention.

"Memphis is fine with the attention and the pressure - he's mentally strong - but the physical part is different from the Dutch league.

"In the first six weeks, you kind of play with adrenaline but then there is a certain moment when all that drops off.

"Van Gaal has been super with working with young players and in time, it will happen for Memphis."

Source: tribalfootball.com

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