Manchester United were in dire need of attacking reinforcements after the acrimonious departure of last season’s top goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manager Erik ten Hag had hinted as much saying that current No 9 Anthony Martial was not fit enough to handle the workload considering the Red Devils were still competing on four different fronts.
As usual, a lot of names were linked with a move to the Theatre of Dreams but ultimately, United landed Burnley striker Wout Weghorst on loan from Besiktas.
ETH is a big fan of Weghorst
And due to his size and his less than impressive displays for the Clarets last season, many have termed the move as a panic buy and do not expect much to come out from it.
But as analysed previously on The Peoples Person, the Dutch striker is much more than just a target man and can offer multiple benefits from now till the end of the season.
Ten Hag revealed that he has been a big admirer of Weghorst and has followed him throughout his career.
“I think Wout has surprised at every club where he has been, except at Burnley, but that was only a very short period,” he told Via Play.
🗣️ Ten Hag over de komst van Wout Weghorst:
“Ik volg hem al heel lang. Overal waar hij is geweest heeft hij verrast. Hij heeft een ongelofelijk vechtmentaliteit.”#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayVoetbal pic.twitter.com/FNRmkhoHJK
— Viaplay Sport Nederland (@viaplaysportnl) January 14, 2023
“I have been following him for a long time, all through his career and I have known him since he was 16-years-old and everywhere he has been he has surprised. Yes, of course he is a player I have been scouting.
“He has shown at all his club that he could add something or strengthen something. He has an incredible mentality. Even defensively he can add value to a team.”
And statistics back up what Ten Hag is indicating. His goal-scoring prowess remains intact as can be seen from his six-month stint in Turkey.
Stats back up ETH’s claim
The 30-year-old scored nine times and assisted a further four in 18 games for the Turkish giants. And prior to his move to Turf Moor, he excelled in the German Bundesliga for Wolfsburg.
Weghorst had scored 70 goals in 133 games for the German club over a four-year spell and had become a fan-favourite, which prompted Burnley to splash the cash on the 6″6′ monster.
His disappointing spell at Burnley was more to do with Sean Dyche’s route one style than his own failings. He always gave 100 per cent and was regularly topping statistics likes distance covered and pressing movements.
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