Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal made it known on Friday that his skipper Wayne Rooney is injured for Saturday’s Barclays Premier League encounter with West Ham at Old Trafford. 

  • By Amos Abuga
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memphis roonRightly or wrongly, a section of United fans took to social media, to ‘celebrate’ Rooney’s ankle injury saying it will give Louis van Gaal an opportunity to pick his team without the misfiring forward.

The injury to the English forward could be a blessing in disguise for the equally under fire Memphis Depay, who has failed to fit into the big Old Trafford shoes since his highly talked about move from PSV Eindhoven at the end of last season.

The Dutch international has endured his fair share of criticism from a section of the United support, with some ‘fans’ commenting on social media that they wished it was Memphis injured and not Anthony Martial ahead of the Watford game two weeks ago. Van Gaal threw the Dutchman into the striker position for the visit to Watford and he scored a great opener in the 2-1 victory.

After the game Van Gaal spoke on his belief that playing through the middle is Depay’s strongest position, but the coach returned him to the wing for the visit of former side PSV in the Champions League. Memphis failed to impress and was hauled off before the end of the 0-0 draw and only made a cameo from the bench in the draw with Leicester City last week.

On Saturday, Van Gaal could turn to Memphis again from the start as he looks to replace Rooney, and a chance to link up with Martial in a central role could be a big opportunity for the 21-year-old.

A strong performance and a goal could bring the fans back on side and kick-start Memphis career in Manchester.




Amos Ondieki (24 Posts)

Amos is a Kenyan who is passionate with sports but has a bias for football. Currently doing his MBA course from the Greenwich and Saxion Universities. follow him on Twitter @AMOKC1oo1