The reason MU recruited Wout Weghorst

1.97 m tall, Wout Weghorst feels like a striker who is only good at air combat. However, this player has many smooth moves and contributes a lot to the play of the whole team.

According to The Athletic, MU made an offer to borrow Weghorst to Burnley and the deal progressed very quickly. Goal confirmed the Premier League relegation team last season agreed to let the Dutch striker move to Old Trafford in the January 2023 transfer window.

MU needs a striker after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, coach Erik ten Hag has repeatedly confirmed this information. Among targets like Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos or Alvaro Morata, the name Weghorst is somewhat surprising.

However, according to Goal, this is a reasonable short-term plan for the "Red Devils" in the mid-season transfer window. In Weghorst, MU owns a striker with a high "work-rate" (attack and defense index) in accordance with the requirements of coach Ten Hag.

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Many British newspapers considered Weghorst 's time at Burnley a failure. However, it is not fair to only evaluate the talent of the Dutch striker in only 6 months with the team that was relegated to the Premier League last season.

In fact, Weghorst imprinted his shoes on the most goals in Burnley's shirt even though he only arrived at this club in January 2022. With a team as tired and lacking in strength as Burnley, it is clear that Weghorst alone can hardly do it.

Outside of his time at Lancashire, the 30-year-old's achievements are impressive. He scored 169 goals in 387 appearances, averaging 0.44 goals per game. Most of Weghorst's goals were made in Europe's top football environment with 70 goals in 144 games at Wolfsburg.

More importantly, Weghorst fits the style of play that Ten Hag needs in a striker. As was the case with Sebastian Haller at Ajax, the Dutchman favors a striker who can hold the ball and link the game while also being able to finish crosses from teammates.

Haller has scored 16 goals with his head and multiple shots from crosses under Ten Hag. In this respect, Weghorst is completely superior to Anthony Martial. The ability to fight and move in the penalty area is not the strong point of the French striker.

However, that is not all Weghorst can offer MU. Possessing a tall body, but the former Wolfsburg star is really good at using his feet. He has the ability to hold the ball and play with his back to the goal, while creating opportunities for teammates as well as boldly finishing when placed in a favorable position.

"Weghorst is basically an Olivier Giroud less handsome, a little less talented and more tattooed," 90min commented.

Weghorst is also active in pressing. As mentioned above, the "work-rate" ability of the former Wolfsburg striker is extremely good. Statistics from Opta show that Weghorst averages 48.7 pressing phases per game, the highest in the Premier League in the 2021/22 season. A striker who works hard to move, puts pressure on the front lines like Weghorst is what Ten Hag is looking for for MU.

Reasonable short-term solution

Weghorst may not be the most exciting or desirable signing for Man Utd fans, but for a short period of time, he is the right signing.

In his six months at Old Trafford, Weghorst can force Martial to play better. Otherwise, he risks being pushed to the bench. And no one is more perfect for coach Ten Hag to look on the bench if MU needs a goal. That was proven in the match between the Netherlands and Argentina in the quarter-finals of the World Cup 2022.

On top of that, Weghorst can make the same impact as Giroud in France. It's a type of 9 that doesn't shine and explode on its own but can do a good job on the field, creating opportunities for teammates around to promote its value.

Coach Ten Hag wants players to actively move, close and defend from the front line. Cristiano Ronaldo can't do this. On the other hand, with Ronaldo, wingers and attacking midfielders often tend to be passive because CR7 often puts less pressure on the opponent's defense.

In the 2021/22 season, Haller is active and contributes a lot to Ajax's play. He often receives the ball, then finds a way to communicate with teammates around, bringing a better attacking position for Ajax. Weghorst has a similar playing style.

When MU drew Burnley 1-1 in February 2022, Weghorst had a situation to open the goal for the home team in a similar way. Weghorst boldly accepted the pass in a position with his back to the goal, deftly removing two MU defensive players before poking a slot down the left wing for his teammates to move freely and score.

In the situation of combining a free kick against Argentina in Qatar, Weghorst received the ball before turning to shoot a decisive shot. He once scored in the same way in the Wolfsburg shirt. That proves Weghorst is tall, but plays technically and uses his feet skillfully with a variety of finishing abilities.

Finally, MU's shopping budget is quite tight. American owners are interested in finding a good investor, there is no reason to pump more money. According to the Guardian, the "Red Devils" can only make loan deals during the mid-season transfer window.

In that context, Weghorst is a cheap, professional and suitable signature for MU's play. The loan deal also contains less risk before MU adds a classier and more expensive striker in the summer of 2023.

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10.1.23

The reason MU recruited Wout Weghorst

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