Manchester United's Memphis Depay has been touted to leave the Red Devils for a while now and with Jose Mourinho excluding the Dutchman from his plans for the rest of the season, it looks likely that a transfer will happen, sooner or later.
According to sources in England, the first bid for the former PSV winger from Olympique Lyon has been rejected by United with the bid estimated to be worth around £13million, a far cry from the price of £26million that United paid for the winger.
Lyon fail to meet United's valuation
Depay was signed in June 2015 from PSV after an excellent season in the Eredivisie, ending up the top scorer in the Dutch league. But since moving to the Premier League, the Dutchman has failed to recapture the same form that made him a highly rated young talent.
The winger started 45 games under previous manager Louis Van Gaal and scored seven goals in the process. However, this season, he has found game time hard to come by with Mourinho effectively keeping him out of the team at the expense of players performing better than the frustrating Dutchman
Lyon's bid of £13million suggests that the French club hope to get Depay away from Old Trafford on a cheap price, although it looks unlikely that any club's bid will be accepted unless they meet the valuation for Depay set by United.
It was rumoured that Ronald Koeman might be interested in bringing the winger to Goodison Park, with Everton having already bought Morgan Schneiderlin just yesterday in a deal worth 24 million pounds, there is still time in the window and a bid might be incoming from the Toffees.
Depay will leave when suitable offer comes
Depay has found it hard to break into the starting eleven in the Premier League, making just four appearances for the Red Devils and playing just 20 minutes of football in the league, his other five appearances spread over the FA Cup, EFL Cup and the Europa League.
The quality in depth that Mourinho now possesses on the wings means that Depay, if he does stay, will have to work very hard to show his worth to his coach.
However, as things stand, the Dutchman wants to leave the club on a permanent deal, which has forced Mourinho to keep the winger out of his plans for his match-day squads in all competitions.
Mourinho has stated in the past that his decision towards Depay has been "influenced" with the news that Depay wants to leave the Old Trafford outfit and that if a "real offer" came in for the winger, the club would be willing to accept it and let him depart, for the right price.
Depay's desire to leave the club has made Mourinho focus on other players and improving them, he said, "if I have the feeling that a player is leaving - if I have to give chances and develop other players", which is exactly what the Portuguese is doing at the moment, rotating between his attackers well and keeping the squad balanced.