Louis van Gaal set to recall out-of-favour star as Man United injury crisis worsens

Memphis Depay has been underwhelming since arriving in the summer

MEMPHIS DEPAY is set for a recall for injury-hit Manchester United on Saturday with manager Louis van Gaal telling the Dutch international he has not lived up to his billing.

 

Depay has struggled to adapt to the English game and been left out of the last six Premier League starting line-ups after being dubbed "the new Cristiano Ronaldo" following his £25million summer move from PSV Eindhoven.

But with Wayne Rooney (illness), Anthony Martial (foot) and Marouane Fellaini (calf) all ruled out Depay is likely to get the chance to show he can live up to all the summer hype.

Van Gaal, who hauled an ineffective Depay off at half-time in the embarrassing defeat at Arsenal six weeks ago, said: "Did I expect more from him? Of course, because otherwise he would still be in the team and I wouldn't have been looking for another solution in Jesse Lingard and Andreas Periera for example.

 

"Now he has to fight back and he has done it, so I am satisfied. He is always looking very good in training. But players of his age are not consistent and when at that time you change the player then the other player has a chance. And that other player is Lingard.

"He has played very good but again with him it is a question of consistency so we have to wait and see.

"I don't have any problems with players but sometimes they are out of the selection because their competitor is, in that moment, in a better shape but that doesn't mean that I have a quarrel with the player. It's a matter of form."

 

Anthony Martial left Wembley on crutches to join the United injury list

Rooney travelled to Watford with the United squad last night but seems unlikely to start after missing two days of training through illness. Martial is definitely out with a bruised foot while Fellaini is still troubled by a calf injury.

Michael Carrick (ankle) is also out as well as long-term casualties Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw. Youngster James Wilson will feature but is not ready for a full 90 minutes.

Van Gaal will also speak to Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger to assess their mental state after both played in the France v Germany international at the Stade de France on the night of the Paris terrorist outrages.

 

He added: "That's my total human being principle. I always look in the eyes and I communicate with players, What they have told me is private I think, but we have communicated about it. It is always possible that they won't play. It is also a question if the players want to play or not. But I cannot say anything about that.

"What happened is I think for every human being in this world a big blow, so I don't think I have to mention what our discussions were."