Stoke City vs Manchester United - Mourinho hopes Depay plays so well at Lyon

Posted Saturday, January 21, 2017 by PA

Stoke boss Mark Hughes welcomes his former club Manchester United on Saturday with both sides in decent form.

The Potters have won their last two Premier League games while United's nine-match winning run was ended by a draw with Liverpool last time out.

Stoke will be confident of taking something having claimed seven points from nine against United at home in their last three meetings, while they also held

Jose Mourinho's side to a draw at Old Trafford earlier this season.

"We're playing them when clearly they're on a good run of form and the team is shaping up to be what you envisage a Jose Mourinho team should look like," said Hughes.

"You can see signs that that's forming as we speak. It'll be a big test. It's maybe a game we can enjoy. There's an expectation that Man United will come here and make it difficult and maybe win.

"We'll clearly have something to say about that and have done in recent seasons. We can maybe express ourselves a little bit more and really have a go and that's what I'll be emphasising to my players."

It could be a big day for two strikers.

Wayne Rooney continues his pursuit of the one goal he needs to become United's all-time leading scorer while in-form Stoke frontman Peter Crouch netted his 99th Premier League goal in last weekend's victory over Sunderland.

Hughes said: "We hope it (Rooney's record-breaking goal) is not against us clearly, we'd much rather Crouchy got his 100th goal, which is really important to him. So hopefully that'll be the case and Wayne will have to wait one week longer."

Mourinho hopes Memphis Depay performs so well at Lyon that the outgoing Manchester United winger one day returns to Old Trafford.

Expectations were high in the summer of 2015 when the 22-year-old arrived in a big-money deal from PSV Eindhoven, but an underwhelming first season was followed by a difficult second campaign.

Depay has made just one United start since Mourinho's arrival and is now joining Lyon in a deal Press Association Sport understands to be in the region of 25 million euros (B#21.7m).

United have inserted a sell-on clause into the deal and an option that could see them one day buy back the winger - a move Mourinho would be welcome to if things work out in France.

Put to the boss that the club have got some security built into the deal if Depay comes good, the Portuguese said: "Of course because potentially he is a very good player.

"I think when Mr Van Gaal decided to buy him, he did well. He knew him very well from the national team.

"He was very young when in the World Cup. He had flashes of top quality.

"He was playing well in Holland - we know that the Dutch league is not the same but he was showing very good things.

"I think Mr Van Gaal and Manchester United they did well to buy him.

"He didn't succeed in this 18 months, I would say, but he is very young so I think it is important for the club to keep control of this talent.

"And we all wish that he plays very, very well at Olympique Lyon and why not to come back because everyone here likes him."

Mourinho says he had not been considering selling Morgan Schneiderlin or Depay this January, but the United boss says the right offers arrived for players that were "not totally happy" because of their lack of game time.

"I don't think it is human to stop them from going," he said. "Only a bad offer or no offer stops them to go.

"But when the offer is correct, and we know how to evaluate that, I don't think it's human to stop somebody to go.

"So if (the same applies to) one of the players that are not happy, again I would not stop them to go."

Bastian Schweinsteiger, back in the squad but not playing regularly, has been linked with a move to Major League Soccer this month, while it has been reported that Ashley Young is considering an offer from China.

United head to Stoke with a fully-fit squad, but Mourinho knows the squad will be tested as they juggle league and cup competitions.

"I always think the best time is the summer market," he added.

"I always consider the January market as an emergency one where you can try and resolve some problems, where you can try to give a little boost to the team for the rest of the season.

"But it is not an easy market. I have to admit that."