Lyon chief admits Memphis Depay could join Barcelona on Monday

In an interview with Telefoot Chaine, Lyon sporting director Juninho has acknowledged that Memphis Depay could leave the club on deadline day to join Barcelona.

The Netherlands international has been in a contract standoff with Les Gones in recent times and he will enter the final six months of his deal at the turn of the year.

Hence, he has been linked with a possible departure and he appears likely to be reunited with former Dutch head coach Ronald Koeman, who is currently the manager of Barcelona.

Depay has already agreed personal terms with the Catalan giants and Juninho has admitted that the deal will most likely go through by today’s 5pm deadline, provided the clubs reach a suitable agreement.

“He has 12 months left on his contract, so… He has got an agreement with Barcelona, we don’t hide that. It is possible that Memphis signs for Barcelona tomorrow, but it is not certain. He is the most likely to go. If he stays he will help us,” He told Telefoot, as translated by Goal.com.

Depay has been a quality player for the Ligue 1 side over the past three-and-a-half years where he has registered 58 goals and 43 assists from 144 appearances across all competitions.

A move to the Blaugrana is definitely an upgrade for the Dutchman and he has the opportunity to take up the striker’s position after the departure of Luis Suarez to Atletico Madrid this summer.

Lionel Messi has been leading the line for the Blaugrana since the beginning of the campaign, but the Argentine will definitely prefer the switch to his traditional right-wing role, where he is most comfortable.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see whether Les Gones purchase a replacement for Depay, who has been their main scoring source this term, having bagged four of their seven league goals.

They ended the previous campaign on a high with a Champions League semi-final appearance, but have struggled in Ligue 1 this season. Garcia’s side are currently 14th on the table with just seven points from six games.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com