Memphis Depay is one of a number of names of players who have been linked with a move to Tottenham this summer. The north London club could have a busy summer window, with both incomings and outgoings, to help strengthen Antonio Conte's squad in time for the 2022/23 season.
Depay made the move to Barcelona on a free transfer last year and has so far made 20 La Liga appearances, scoring 10 goals and registering two assists. With the arrivals of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres and a couple of recent injury problems, it could become more difficult for the 28-year-old to get game time at the Spanish club.
Conte has previously spoken about experienced players as those who make good transfers. "When you go to sign experienced players it can help you, it can help the players in the squad. Especially if there are young players without great experience," the Italian said at the beginning of the year.
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Experience is something that Depay can bring, having played in Spain, Holland, France and England. The 28-year-old has proven talent, experience playing in various leagues and this has earned him praise from some of his former managers.
"He is a really good professional. People can look at him and probably think he’s a party boy," Jose Mourinho said last year. "I think he got this maturity in Lyon which is sometimes what players need.
"Sometimes they can go too early to the biggest clubs where they are not ready to cope with it. Where they are not ready to understand that in the biggest clubs there are internal competition, that you can not play all the time.
"So when he decided to go to Lyon it was a great move for him and now he goes to Barcelona with maturity, with a good football age and I believe the Barcelona culture of football will help him also to level up in this important part of his career. But good memories of him and I repeat - he was a good professional."
It isn't just at club level that the striker has proven himself. On duty with the Netherlands during this international break, Depay played in both matches for his country, scoring in the 4-2 victory over Denmark and registered an assist when his nation played Germany on Tuesday.
Depay spent a couple of months being coached by Ronald Koeman at Barcelona, who also had praise for the 28-year-old. "He's always dangerous, he’s always waiting for the opportunity to score," the 59-year-old said in August last year.
A few years before that and when Koeman was in charge of the Netherlands side, he also commended the striker for his talent. "He's great, he's turning into a top player. That's great, we need that, especially in attacking positions. He's showing that at Lyon, and at Oranje now as well," the ex-Barcelona boss explained.
"He knows he's one of the first names I write down every time. When he's a lone striker he tends to drift back too much, so we have a hole up front. But when he plays between the lines, like in the last part, he was so strong. He's turning, attacking, he's a joy to watch."
In January, Spurs saw the arrivals of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, both who have broken straight into Conte's regular XI and made an immediate impact - unusual for a duo from a foreign league. Although this could be the case with other arrivals in the summer, the Italian will likely be more attracted to a player like Depay, who knows what playing in the Premier League is all about.
For a player who has proven ability from his statistics, is someone with experience and has been praised by both managers and teammates, could Depay be someone Tottenham really try and target this summer? The 28-year-old has a current market value of £40.5million, according to Transfermarkt.
Spurs are in need of at least one other option up front, with Harry Kane their only secure current choice. Therefore maybe Daniel Levy needs to provide the funds for Fabio Paratici to target more expensive players, if they could considerably strengthen Conte's side.
