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.

"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.