David Beckham urges Depay to use No. 7 shirt as an inspiration

Memphis Depay joined Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven in the summer.

Former Manchester United midfielder David Beckham has urged Memphis Depay to use the No.7 shirt as an inspiration to kickstart his career at Old Trafford, as per the reports on Daily Mail. Depay is set to return to United’s starting XI during their away trip to Watford on Saturday.

The 21-year-old arrived in England from Holland’s PSV Eindhoven for a reported fee of £25 million. Depay was the Eredivisie’ s top scorer with 22 goals last season and was hailed by boss Louis Van Gaal as the ‘best winger of his age group’.

The Dutch international made a promising start to his Red Devils career with 13 appearances in a row, but his performances deteriorated and he was subbed off in United’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal on October. Since then, Van Gaal has dropped him from the first team and he is struggling to earn his place back in the squad.

Anthony Martial suffered an injury in France’s 2-0 defeat to England on Tuesday and the Frenchman was seen leaving the Wembley Stadium on crutches. Martial’s injury setback could benefit Depay, who is likely to be drawn back to the starting lineup against Watford on Saturday.

Many have suggested that Depay’s recent lacklustre performances were due to the pressure of wearing the fabled number seven shirt. After all, the club’s greats have donned the legendary shirt in recent years including the likes of Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham.

However, the Dutch international is not the only player to have ‘felt the pressure’ wearing the shirt at the Theatre of Dreams. High-profile names such as Michael Owen, Angel Di Maria and Antonio Valencia have all failed to do the shirt justice while at the club.

The former England captain Beckham has now denied that there is extra pressure linked with the shirt and has urged Depay to embrace the number and look to the likes of Robson and Cantona for inspiration.

“I don’t see it as an intimidation, I see it as an honour,” the United legend stated.

“At the end of the day it is a special shirt to wear but I don’t think personally that it comes with any pressure. It always was an inspiration for me. It was never my shirt. It was George Best’s, Bryan Robson’s, Eric Cantona’s.”

“The only reason I wanted to wear the Number 7 shirt was because of these players. The Number 7 shirt is a special shirt for Man United. It always has been and it always will be.”