Barcelona Closing in on Signing of Lyon's Memphis Depay for €25m

Barcelona are said to be close to finalising a deal to sign Lyon forward Memphis Depay, with the Catalan giants expected to pay around €25m for his services.

The 26-year-old Lyon captain has been hugely impressive since he made the switch to Ligue 1 back in 2017. Memphis managed 15 goals and two assists in all competitions last term, despite the fact he only played 22 times due to an ACL injury he suffered in December.

The Dutch forward has under one year remaining on his current Lyon deal, however, and has recently attracted interest from elsewhere. Following the appointment of Ronald Koeman in August, Memphis has been linked with a move to Barcelona in order to team up with the former Netherlands boss once again.

Post United have now provided a very clear and concise update on Memphis' future, claiming that he will become a new Barça player this summer. La Blaugrana are expected to pay around €25m in order to land his services, with the deal expected to be finalised soon.

Koeman has made it clear to the Barça hierarchy that Memphis is the player he has chosen to replace the departing Luis Suarez. Considering his age and his level of performances in recent times, this will represent a very good deal for Barcelona. He is equally capable of operating on the left wing or as a central striker, which could see him become a very valuable player under Koeman at Camp Nou.

This, of course, comes after Lionel Messi declared he will be staying at Barça next season, despite making clear his intention to leave this summer. The addition of a player such as Memphis will be a step in the right direction for a club that has dominated headlines in recent weeks for all the wrong reasons.

Memphis did recently hint that he is very much open to departing Lyon this summer, admitting that the lack of Champions League football for 2020/21 is impacting his decision. Lyon's sporting director Juninho also recently confirmed to the club's website that they have already identified a number of targets should Memphis depart this summer.