Depay has talent but he is not Messi or Ronaldo - Van Gaal

Memphis Depay is a talented player who can offer a lot, but Louis van Gaal has warned Barcelona that the Lyon forward will not solve all of their problems.

The 27-year-old is a target for the LaLiga giants, where former Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman is in charge following Quique Setien's dismissal.

After a disappointing spell under Van Gaal at Manchester United, Dutchman Depay has revived his career at Lyon by scoring and assisting a combined 63 goals in three full seasons at the Groupama Stadium.

But Van Gaal, who also coached Depay for the Netherlands national side, said Barca would not be getting a world-class player of similar calibre to Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

You know we never got things the easy way! It builds our character and makes us mental stronger. Succes on this new journey bro I’m sure you going to kill it. Bless up Youngking Kenny Tete. pic.twitter.com/U304MAzJEC

— Memphis Depay (@Memphis) September 10, 2020

"There's always a question mark," he told Tuttomercatoweb. "Depay is an interesting player, especially when he's free to play.

"But we have to consider adapting to a new culture and a new team. And the first year is always the hardest. Look at [Matthijs] de Ligt or Frenkie de Jong.

"Depay has talent, but he's not Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo."

Depay picked up from where he left off by scoring a hat-trick against Dijon in Lyon's opening game of the Ligue 1 season last month, before playing a full part in both of the Netherlands' Nations League games over the past week.