When Ronald Koeman made it clear that he wanted Memphis Depay in as a striker at Barcelona, it was arguably to play alongside, and complement, Lionel Messi.
With the Argentinian having been forced to move on to pastures new, however, the Dutchman now finds himself as a focal point of Barca’s attack.
He’s certainly responded well to the challenge, having scored three goals already in his opening three La Liga games for the Catalans.
That’s seen him become the darling of the Camp Nou terraces in double-quick time.
“Not even in my wildest dreams could I imagine my name being chanted at Camp Nou,” he was quoted as saying by Sport.
“I am really satisfied because my goal allowed us to pick up three important points. But it’s still a bittersweet feeling, not like in Bilbao, where we dropped points, but because I think Barça can play better.”
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Though the ghost of Messi will probably hang over the club for a while yet, it’s always preferable to look forward rather than back, and Memphis is going about doing just that in the right way.
With Koeman bringing through more talented youngsters too, this could still end up being a successful season for Barca, against all the odds.