Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar has warned Memphis Depay that the Premier League will be a steeper mountain to climb for him than the Eredivisie.
Manchester United agreed a €32m deal for the transfer of the highly-rated winger with PSV Eindhoven last week and a lot is already being expected of the Dutchman, who has scored 22 goals in the Eredivisie this season.
Depay is expected to arrive in Manchester soon to complete a medical before signing a contract with the club and will join the rest of the Manchester United squad for their pre-season conditioning this summer.
However, Vlaar warned that the Premier League will be a complete different kettle of fish from the Eredivisie, where Depay thrived this season.
The Villa man warned his international team-mate that he will find it a lot harder to break down Premier League defences than has been the case in the Netherlands.
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Speaking to Voetbal International, Vlaar said: “Memphis will soon find out that the English league is much tougher than the Dutch league.
“The defenders in the Netherlands will only briefly press [the attackers] but here the moment you think you have time on the ball there will be a defender on your neck.
“The attackers on the field are under constant pressure and Memphis must become much stronger and faster.
“The threat that he posed in the Eredivisie, initially he might not be able to transfer that to the Premier League.”
Depay has scored seven goals from direct free-kicks this season, the most by any player in Europe’s top six leagues.
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