Ronald Koeman has revealed he changed his mind about Memphis Depay after holding talks with his fellow Dutchman about a potential move to Everton.
Koeman became Blues manager in 2016 and led the side to seventh in the Premier League after his first campaign. However, a poor beginning to the 2017/18 season meant that he was given his marching orders - with his final match being a humbling 5-2 home defeat to Arsenal in October 2017.
But midway through his first season at Goodison Par k, Koeman was keen to bring Depay to Merseyside from Manchester United. However, and as reported by the ECHO at the time, the Blues pulled their interest in a permanent deal for the winger during the January transfer window.
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The move came just two months after Koeman took the rare step of speaking about his interest in the Netherlands international. He said: "I would like to have him, I think he is an interesting player. He has great individual qualities. He just needs to play games."
And speaking ahead of the start of the World Cup, Koeman has heaped plenty of praise for the current Barcelona man and revealed he changed his mind about him following transfer talks.
“Memphis and I are still in touch,” the former Holland and Barcelona boss told Voetbal International. “Looking back, we can laugh about a comment I made about him when he was young.
“I didn’t know him personally and had seen him in a match with a national youth team. Then I said something to the press about his attitude.
“That he acted as if he had already won ten European Cups! During that conversation [at Everton], I noticed what a good boy he is.
“And that feeling was only reinforced when I later started working with him at the Orange and at Barcelona. Memphis is a fantastic guy and a great professional. Everything he does is all about be as fit and as good as possible.”
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