Manchester United target Memphis Depay to leave PSV Eindhoven this summer

Manchester United target Memphis Depay will leave PSV Eindhoven at the end of the season, says his current manager Phillip Cocu.

Depay, 21, was heavily linked with a move that would have seen him follow Louis van Gaal to Old Trafford last summer, but opted to remain in the Eredivisie for another season.

The Dutch international also rejected an offer from Southampton before signing a contract extension at the Phillips Arena, but after a season where he has scored 15 goals in 18 league games his stock has continued to rise.

With Tottenham Hotspur among the clubs also showing interest in Depay, Cocu admits there will be little the club can do to hold onto him this summer and his departure almost a certainty.

"That is unfortunate [Depay leaving], but on the one hand, we must as a club be proud because we have trained him," Cocu told Sport Express. "At some point, it becomes clear that he is ready for the next step. And yes, I think he is going to leave PSV after this season."

Following his arrival at Old Trafford in the summer, one of van Gaal's first moves was to try and convince the star of his Netherlands' 2014 World Cup campaign Arjen Robben to join his project in the Premier League.

The winger refused, but with Depay drawing comparisons with the Bayern Munich star, van Gaal could be tempted to look to the man with age on his side.

"Whether he can be as good as Arjen Robben? I think so," Cocu continued. "They are different players but they are both fast and have a good shot. And both always have the urge to learn.

"But Memphis is only 21-year-old and only in a few years can real conclusions be drawn."

While United and Tottenham were heavily linked with Depay throughout the summer, it was later revealed that Southampton also made a bid for the starlet.

Erwin Koeman, brother and assistant manager to Saints boss Ronald Koeman, revealed in December: "With his style, he (Depay) would fit well in England. Memphis is fast, focused and physically strong. Southampton would have been an excellent springboard for him to the very top of the Premier League.

"Here he would have had time to get used to the level and would have had two Dutch coaches who have great confidence in him, but he did not sit down and chose to stay at PSV.

"Too bad for us, but also for him."