GOAL - James Nalton

Memphis Depay has revealed that Laurent Blanc tried to sign him while in charge of French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

The Lyon forward was speaking to reporters following the Netherlands' 3-1 victory over Northern Ireland in their Euro 2020 qualification match, with the 25-year-old scoring twice to take his tally to five in the competition.

And Depay has claimed that PSG were keen on his services in the past, with Blanc having been in charge at the Parc des Princes between 2013 and 2016.

He said, as quoted by L'Equipe: "He (Blanc) wanted to buy me during his time at PSG."

The Dutchman began his professional career at PSV Eindhoven before moving to Manchester United in 2015, and it’s likely that the interest from PSG will have come around that time.

Blanc won the league three seasons in a row during his time with the Ligue 1 powerhouse, while he also secured a domestic treble two seasons in a row.

He would, however, leave the club at the end of the 2015-16 season, with it suggested that a failure to advance past the quarter-final stages of the Champions League ultimately cost him his job.

Blanc has remained out of management since, but is now in pole position to take over at Lyon, where he will finally get to work with Depay after seemingly trying to sign him earlier in his career.

After moving to Lyon from United in 2017, Depay has been one of the best attacking players in Europe, netting 38 goals in 96 Ligue 1 games for the club.

They have, however, made a poor start to the new season and sit 14th in the table, having won just two of their nine games so far, with Sylvinho being sacked as a result of the poor run of results.

On the Brazilian's exit, Depay added: "I feel bad for him. The bad results were not his fault."

Arsene Wenger’s name has also been linked to the job as Lyon look to return to the European qualification places, while the club's president Jean-Michel Aulas has claimed Jose Mourinho has turned down the position.