Former Manchester United striker Wout Weghorst has blamed Erik ten Hag for his lack of goals whilst at the club.
The signing of the Dutch forward raised more than a few eyebrows as he was brought in on loan in January 2023 from Burnley.
He would go on to play a rather significant role for the rest of the season, playing 31 times for the club and scoring two goals.
Reflecting on his time at the club to the Manchester Evening News he claimed, “they were super successful months in which we hardly lost…I was also very important for the team as both a focal point of play and the hard-working link between midfield and attack.”
Instead of blaming himself for numerous missed chances he decided to aim his fire on Ten Hag’s tactics.
“Only my goals were lagging behind. That gnawed at me and 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 side creating chances. And the way we played was also different from what I was used to.”
He exclaimed that while he was in Turkyie and Germany, his teams used to “play for him” while at United he had to “ensure others would excel”.
Elaborating on his first experience of Old Trafford, when he went to watch United beat Manchester City 2-1 in January 2023 he waxed lyrical over the atmosphere of the stadium.
“I entered that magical stadium for the first time in my life and when I sat down in my seat, looked around and took in the chanting of the fans, it hit me hard.”
“That was the moment when I realised this is my club now. Then I watched one of the greatest football matches on earth. Of course I had dreamed about this as a young boy. But to see it actually happen made me shiver.”
Weghorst claimed that he had basically no adjustment period, as is typical of mid-season signings and also bemoaned that he was held back by shyness in his first few months at the club.
“Maybe I was too humble. But I will never forget my goal at Old Trafford against Real Betis. The fans were super crazy about me because they also saw that I was doing everything for it. I’m quite proud that I got this far.”
Weghorst would later leave Burnley on loan again after he departed United in the summer of 2023 for TSG Hoffenheim in Germany, before securing a permanent move to Ajax this summer, where he has scored four goals in 11 appearances.
Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
