Memphis Depay in no rush to seal Barcelona transfer

Lyon forward Memphis Depay has admitted that he has not ruled out staying with the French side until the end of the season.

The Dutchman came close to joining Barcelona last summer and is still near the top of Barca boss Ronald Koeman's wish list.

Having entered the final six months of his contract, it has been suggested that Lyon would look to offload Depay for whatever money they could find now instead of letting him leave for free, but the 26-year-old is in no rush to leave.

'I'm happy here," he told Canal+. "We have a great team, I really like the president, we'll see what happens.

"The president and I know what has happened in the last four seasons. Let's keep going and enjoy my time here. I might be here until the end of the season. Let's focus on Saturday's game, let's be happy, we have a great team."

Koeman is understood to be keen on bringing in Depay in January instead of waiting to land him on a free transfer, although he might not be in too much of a rush after seeing his side rediscover their attacking mojo in recent weeks.

Barcelona are on a seven-game unbeaten streak, in which they have bagged 13 goals, so the need to sign Depay immediately is no longer as great as it once was. Look what happens when Lionel Messi returns to form.

Depay staying in Lyon would also be beneficial for the French side, who are seeking to end Paris Saint-Germain's reign of terror and lift their first Ligue 1 title since 2008.

Depay's ten goals puts him second in the league's scoring charts behind Kylian Mbappe, with his strikes leading Lyon to the top of the Ligue 1 table, three points clear of Mauricio Pochettino's PSG.

Lyon are obviously risking allowing Depay to walk away for pennies at the end of the season, but since his price tag would be so low at this point, they might as well hold on to him and see what they can achieve this year.

For more from ​Tom Gott, follow him on ​Twitter!