When Erik Ten Hag brought in Wout Weghorst on loan in January 2023, many people opened their eyes. The striker was not good enough for Burnley, was on loan in the Turkish league with Besiktas. In the World Cup, Weghorst, with his substitutions and late goals, was a threat, even for Argentina, but still. It ended with 31 games in a United shirt and two poor goals. Now the Dutchman explains why it was not the goals he was brought in for.

Weghorst worked hard and went for a permanent move to Manchester United, but the United management couldn’t justify signing another striker who didn’t score. Weghorst blames Erik ten Hag.

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“There were successful months where we hardly lost. I was also very important to the team. Both as the focal point of the game and as the link between midfield and attack, Weghorst begins in his defensive speech in an interview with the Manchester Evening News.

“It was only my goals that were missing, that was the reason why I lost my starting place. The Premier League is by far the toughest league in the world with the best defenders, but we were rarely the dominant team creating chances. And the way we played was also different from what I was used to,” the Dutchman continues.

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“In Germany and Turkey, the teams always played for me. I was the last link in the chain, while at United I first and foremost had to make sure that others could shine…, says Weghorst.

We more than sense a criticism of Erik Ten Hag’s football. It wasn’t just Weghorst who thought he was going to get high balls in front of goal, as with the Dutch national team when he almost sent Argentina out of the quarter-finals with two late goals. We envisioned Flo passes to the beacon Weghorst, but Ten Hag didn’t use the attacking weapon he brought in halfway through the season.

Weghorst doesn’t want to be blamed for not scoring more in the red shirt.

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