Manchester United: Jose Mourinho a “nice prospect” according to Memphis Depay but Daley Blind reveals he would have liked Louis Van Gaal to stay
Manchester United winger Memphis Depay has described the opportunity to work under incoming manager Jose Mourinho as "a nice prospect" following a frustrating first season at the club under the now-sacked Louis Van Gaal.
Van Gaal was officially relieved of his duties on Monday, despite winning the FA Cup on Saturday, following days of speculation he was to be replaced by Mourinho.
Depay, who was not even in the cup final squad, has welcomed the prospect of a new manager but Holland and United teammate Daley Blind has expressed disappointment over the treatment handed to Van Gaal.
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"A love-hate relationship [with Van Gaal]? I do not know," Depay told De Telegraaf. "Now he leaves, this is how things go in football and in life. You learn and you become stronger.
"If the arrival of Mourinho becomes official, I'll ask Wesley Sneijder what kind of man he is. That's interesting. It all sounds so, but it is not official yet."
When told that Holland teammate Sneijder has described Mourinho as the best coach he's ever worked with, Depay responded: "That's a nice prospect."
Yet United's other Dutchman, Daley Blind, has stated he would have liked to have kept working with former Holland boss Van Gaal.
Both Blind and Depay formed part of Van Gaal's 2014 World Cup squad, while Blind's father Danny was an assistant coach who took over from Van Gaal as manager at the end of the tournament.
Unlike Depay, who has been used sparingly by Van Gaal this season, Blind has been a key player making 35 appearances.
"I think a manager at a big club in the Premier League will always be under pressure," said Blind, "But in the case of Van Gaal he has not been treated fairly over the last six months.
"I think a manager with the status of Van Gaal, who has achieved so much in his career, deserved more respect. No matter what was said or written about him as a manager, he never stopped protecting us as players.
"He has defended us under any kind of circumstances, he was always taking the stick instead of us. I think I can say that the whole squad is grateful for that, for what he has done in that respect for us as players.
"As players we kept believing in each other and we also kept believing in our manager, which was part of the reason we were able to win the FA Cup. We achieved this as a group, including the manager. In the end, this was a successful season in our eyes.
"I've enjoyed working with the manager so much, I would have liked to have carried on for a while."