Barcelona attacker Memphis Depay offers himself to Serie A club due to lack of game time: Reports
According to Calcio Mercato, Barcelona forward Memphis Depay has offered himself to Serie A club AS Roma due to his lack of game time at the Catalan club.
Depay was close to an exit during the summer transfer window with Juventus and Chelsea being interested in the player.
Xavi Hernandez has signed the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and more during the summer transfer window and Depay has fallen down the pecking order. He has been out for over a month with a hamstring injury he sustained in September during international duty.
Depay has also seen his gametime cut short during the season as the Dutchman has made only three appearances, scoring one goal. Overall, he has 14 goals and two assists to his name in 41 games for the Catalan club across competitions.
He is understood to have offered himself to Roma in a bid to reunite with Jose Mourinho. The duo had a stint together at Manchester United.
Depay's contract at the club is set to expire next summer and Barcelona are open to letting the forward leave in January rather than losing him on a free.
While Depay has offered himself to Roma, the Italian club are more keen to add defenders to their roster. Hence, whether a move materializes or not remains to be seen.
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez speaks ahead of clash against Viktoria Plzen
Xavi recently admitted that they have no one to blame but themselves for their inability to qualify for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
While speaking to the media ahead of the clash against Viktoria Plzen, the Barcelona manager said (via ESPN):
"We have nothing to play for, but this [Viktoria Plzen] is an important game, We want to end this competition well. We lack maturity. We have a lot of youngsters and we've had the worst Champions League group in years. We've had injuries.
"They're not excuses, but that has hurt us. With respect to last season, we have a better squad and we have given a better image in Europe. But we haven't been up to the task."
He added:
"We lost it [the chance to qualify] ourselves. We had the opportunity, and it has escaped us. There are details such as refereeing decisions and adverse situations, but you have to be self critical."
Xavi further said:
"We have tried to compete in the Champions [League] and it wasn't enough. The steps we have taken with respect to last year were smaller than we expected, but we have to be patient and keep working."
Only one win in five Champions League group games saw Barcelona settle for third spot behind Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. Their European journey will now continue in the UEFA Europa League.