These are your Manchester United evening headlines for Thursday, December 29.
Memphis Depay transfer would help United in two ways
If Jose Mourinho insists on a buy-back clause it is fair to consider the player is an unfulfilled talent. Mourinho did so with Adnan Januzaj and Memphis Depay, both now in Spain at Sevilla and Barcelona.
Manchester United fleetingly considered re-signing Depay in the summer, five-and-a-half years after he left for Lyon. Depay and Erik ten Hag's paths crossed during the United manager's stint as assistant at PSV Eindhoven in the early 2010s and Ten Hag is a stickler for familiarity.
Depay overcame a thigh problem to figure for the Netherlands at the World Cup after only two starts for Barcelona, where he is approaching the endgame. The 28-year-old is out of contract in the summer and Barca need to clear the decks.
Erik ten Hag starting to do what Ferguson did
It's been more than five years since Manchester United were this good at Old Trafford. Nothing has summed up United's demise over the last decade more than their once impenetrable home being ransacked by visiting teams on a regular basis, but under Erik ten Hag the fortress is being rebuilt.
David Moyes' team lost at home to West Brom, Everton, Newcastle and Swansea, who also beat Louis van Gaal's side at Old Trafford. The Dutchman was also beaten by Southampton (twice), West Brom, again, and Norwich at home.
Jose Mourinho came with a record of being unbeatable at home, but lost tamely to Sevilla, West Brom (them, again), and twice to Manchester City. The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era included home defeats by Cardiff, Crystal Palace (twice), Burnley and Sheffield United. Ralf Rangnick's temporary reign still included a loss to Wolves at Old Trafford.
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