Man Utd flop Memphis Depay was the first laptop transfer in the world

Former Manchester United flop Memphis Depay quit Old Trafford and moved to Lyon to "play more freely". 

The 26-year-old Dutch attacker became the first "laptop transfer" after using an analytics company to find him the perfect club for him. 

The dynamic wide forward was heralded as the next big thing when he made the move to Old Trafford from PSV Eindhoven for £31 million back in 2015. But after just two seasons, seven goals and 53 appearances, he packed his bags and headed to central France for just £16 million.

The move has been a big success for the Dutch international as he has become one of the stand-out players in Ligue 1. He is a regular starter for the Netherlands, having scored 17 goals in just 22 games this season before coronavirus cancelled the Ligue 1 campaign. 

Now, Giels Brouwer, who works for analytics company SciSports, has revealed how the Dutchman enlisted his help in quitting United. 

Posting on Reddit, Brouwer explained: "Memphis made the first laptop transfer by asking us for transfer advice with data. 

“The agent asked us to visit Memphis in Manchester where he was living at that moment. 

"I went there with two colleagues and we watched a Champions League game on his couch. 

“In our discussion about the next step in his career, he was really open about what he wanted and didn't want. 

“He wanted to play ‘more freely’, he wanted to be ‘important for the team’ and wanted to play in a big five competition with a coach that had a clear playing style." 

The Dutch international has since revealed in his book that Louis Van Gaal "played him out of position" and Jose Mourinho never gave him a chance to shine. 

With Memphis' instructions, Brouwer got to work trying to find a club that would be a perfect fit. 

He continued: "We looked for instance at his playing style at PSV and the Dutch national team and compared that with the playing style of Man Utd. 

"We noticed that he was involved with a lot more defensive actions at Man Utd. 

“Regarding importance of the team, we looked for teams who didn't have their star player on LW or LCF.

"For playing style, we investigated consistency, speed of passing and transition, use of flanks and defensive line, the height of the defenders." 

Depay was so desperate to quit Manchester United that he told Brouwer that money was not one of the vital components of the transfer. 

Depay insisted that playing style and how he could develop as a player outweighed how much he would be paid. 

Brouwer added: “In the end, we wrote a report with five potential clubs that would suit his playing style and Lyon was one of them. 

“Of course, it is up to the agent and the club to make a deal as our work ends there.” 

However, his love affair with the French side could be coming to an end. It has been reported that he could quit the club after they failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 23-years. 

The French season was ended by coronavirus, with Lyon outside of the European places in seventh and looking to cash in on their best players to boost their finances.

Featured image credits - SPORTBible