Manchester United made the first significant move in another expensive recruitment programme to re-establish themselves as authentic Premier League challengers when they announced the signing of the Holland international Memphis Depay for a fee in the region of £25m.

The winger is the first arrival in what promises to be another summer of lavish spending at Old Trafford and joins the extensive list of transfer targets Liverpool have been unable to persuade to move to Merseyside over the past few years. They had made concerted efforts to try to arrange a deal for the 21-year-old with PSV Eindhoven.

Paris Saint-Germain were among the other clubs monitoring Depay’s availability during a season in which he has established himself at the top of the Eredivisie scoring charts with 21 goals in 28 games. Only five other players – Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alexandre Lacazette, Sergio Agüero and Antoine Griezmann – have been more prolific in the top European leagues this season.

“This move was just about feeling, not money,” Depay said. “It’s been an exciting and hectic period and to have had to choose between so many top clubs doesn’t make it any easier. Manchester United is an absolute dream club so I didn’t need any convincing about the quality of the guys already there. I’m looking forward to playing alongside a few of my Dutch team-mates but also the other players as well. You can’t deny the interest of a club such as Manchester United.”

Depay’s arrival provides more competition for the wide places at Old Trafford and appears to extinguish any hope Nani may hold of reinstating himself in Louis van Gaal’s thinking now his loan arrangement at Sporting Lisbon is coming to an end.

Van Gaal worked with Depay when he was managing Holland, giving him his international debut, and the player mentioned that relationship when he was explaining why he preferred United to Liverpool. “I’ve learned so much at PSV, not only on the pitch but also as a person. That makes me grateful but I really felt it was time to move on. And working with the manager Louis van Gaal again is also a big bonus.”

The transfer will be completed next month, once Depay has had a medical, and it will provide United with a quick, two-footed player who has scored 49 goals in 122 appearances for PSV and been influential in helping them win the Dutch league. However, there is a feeling in the Netherlands that for all his talent Depay is still at a stage of his career when he can be raw and may not be an automatic starter.

“Last season he made the step to be a senior player and not a junior player,” said Southampton’s Ronald Koeman, his former manager at PSV. “He still has to develop himself and it will be tough for him because the Premier League is really tough, physically and mentally. For him it is a great challenge to be a player of Manchester United.”

Depay’s arrival has been completed early because United are aware that in the previous two seasons their buying was delayed – mostly because of changing managers – and in the process they lost out on long-term targets such as Cesc Fàbregas, Toni Kroos and Thiago Alcântara. The club have a more settled look and were determined not to let business drag for a third consecutive summer. They now have one of the most exciting young players in Europe.

“We are very proud of this upcoming transfer,” Marcel Brands, PSV’s sporting director, said. “Memphis has gone through all the teams of the PSV youth academy and has played an important part in the national title this year. He’s a wonderful exponent of our training and will be moving to a magnificent club.”