Jose Mourinho willing to make Barcelona star his 'protagonist' at AS Roma: Reports

According to El Nacional, Jose Mourinho is eyeing up a move for Barcelona forward Memphis Depay to join AS Roma.

Depay has found himself in a tough spot at the Catalan club. He joined the Blaugrana last summer and was an important player under compatriot Ronald Koeman at the start of last season. However, since Xavi Hernandez took over at Camp Nou in November 2021, Depay has been demoted as a substitute.

His role has further deteriorated this season. The Dutchman has been out due to injury since September. He has made only three appearances for the Blaugrana, scoring one goal.

Memphis Depay asked the club for permission to be absent from the last training sessions with Barça. The player is already in The Netherlands to prepare for the World Cup.

— @mundodeportivo https://t.co/IrkLccYYk3

A move away from the club looks certain for Depay and Mourinho is interested in the player.

They had a spell together during their time at Manchester United. However, it was a lackluster tenure for the Dutch forward as he didn't thrive under Mourinho. Depay tallied seven goals and six assists in 53 games across competitions for the Red Devils.

With Mourinho interested, Barcelona won't be looking for a big sum to sell the player. The aforementioned report states that a fee of €8 million is enough to convince the club to sell Depay.

Jose Mourinho wants to make the deal happen in January as the 2022 FIFA World Cup will already conclude by then. He wants to make Depay 'the protagonist' of his team. Barca will likely agree, as they risk losing Depay for no fee if he does not leave in January given his contract expires in the summer of 2023.

Mourinho's AS Roma are currently in sixth spot in the Serie A table with 25 points on the board from 13 games.

Jose Mourinho recently mocked Barcelona for their UEFA Champions League disaster

Barcelona finished third in their UEFA Champions League group and dropped to the UEFA Europa league as a result. The Spanish outfit failed to defeat Inter Milan and Bayern Munich and their only wins came against Group C whipping boys Viktoria Plzen.

A few weeks ago, AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho took a cheeky dig at the Catalan club for their lackluster campaign in the competition.

The Portuguese tactician told the media following his team's Europa League clash against Real Betis on October 13 (via Republic World):

"I see them [Betis] as candidates, but the failed sharks of the Champions League will arrive, and they will come in hard. They shouldn't come but it's the reality. It's going to be fun. The failures of the Champions League."

🇪🇸 Barcelona vs Manchester United 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

#UELdraw https://t.co/kG6YiYq6Io

Barcelona will face Manchester United in their first game in the competition in the playoff round. Xavi recently spoke about the fixture (via MARCA):

"We've not been lucky with the draw, getting the toughest opponent we could get, But, we have to compete. The players will be even more motivated against a strong opponent."

Roma, meanwhile, will face RB Salzburg in the playoff round after finishing second in Group C of the Europa League.