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New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has reiterated his desire to sign Lyon attacker Memphis Depay in January. Depay was set to move to Barcelona in the summer before the deal broke down at the last moment due to financial reasons.
Barcelona have had a mixed start to their 2020-21 campaign, picking up seven points from four games. The Catalan giants are coming off a disappointing 2019-20 season, where they finished second in La Liga, and were dumped out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich who thrashed them 8-2.
Barcelona had a summer of change, during which they hired former player Ronald Koeman to take over the reins after sacking Quique Setien. Koeman began his time at Barcelona by getting rid of ageing and fringe players.
The Dutchman sanctioned the departures of some high-profile squad members such as Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Artur Melo, and Nelson Semedo. Barcelona were intent on raising funds through player sales this summer to tackle the negative financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman is determined to reunite with Memphis Depay in January ar the Camp Nou
Memphis Depay was reportedly disappointed that his dream move to Barcelona did not materialise, but has indicated that his thoughts are fixed on taking Lyon back into the Champions League this season.
Koeman has, however, doubled down on his desire to secure the 26-year-old's signature before his contract expires next summer. The Dutch manager was questioned on his intentions to move for Depay in January during an interview with AD.
Ronald Koeman was quoted saying, " It's a possibility. I will try because I want to have him at Barcelona, but I cant know what the financial situation of the club will be then. We'll have to wait."
Finances have been a major obstacle for Barcelona and proved to be the reason why they were unable to secure Memphis Depay's services. Barcelona were unable to move on Ousmane Dembele, and Philippe Coutinho has remained at the club as well.
" Everything was ready but due to La Liga rules we knew we had to sell a player first. In the end, that didn't happen. We wanted Memphis because he's a great player and because he's got qualities that I think we lack, including an ability to play with depth in his game."
Memphis Depay made comments on the rumors surrounding his potential transfer to Barcelona on Friday.
"I'm very happy at Lyon. I'm proud to be a Lyon player and the captain. Things have been misunderstood, What's said in the media is not always true. It's true that some clubs were interested in me and came forward, but in the end no deal was done.
When asked about the possibility of a January move, he replied : "That's in four months, we'll see. My thoughts are with Lyon.
