Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is on the lookout for a striker this summer to support Rasmus Hojlund.
One has caught his eye already, with the Manchester United manager speaking about a player with ‘rare qualities’ during his punditry duties for Dutch TV.
Erik ten Hag has already worked with this player before and signed him once.
The problem… it’s Wout Weghorst.
Erik ten Hag praises Wout Weghorst
Now we do not believe for a moment that Erik ten Hag will actually go and sign Wout Weghorst for Manchester United this summer.
But his long-standing admiration for the former Manchester United loanee remains strong.
Ten Hag was speaking after Weghorst came off the bench to score the winner in Netherlands’ opening Euro 2024 game with Poland.
He is quoted by FC Update: “He has a character that you don’t see much in the Netherlands: the hunger.
“He is so driven and I very rarely see that in a Dutch footballer.”
“His drive has brought him where he is now. I think it’s great and I think he is extremely valuable to his team.”
Ten Hag signed Weghorst on loan for Manchester United in 2022/23. Despite some high-effort displays, he contributed only two goals.
Weghorst praised by Ronald Koeman
Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has praised Wout Weghorst for the way he responded to being dropped for the team’s opening game.
He did what a substitute striker should do, coming off the bench to score a winner.
He told Voetbal International: “I spoke to Wout and explained what his chances were. He comes onto the field when we need a substitute. He was a bit upset about that, but he works hard and shows the right mentality.’
“With Memphis we have a striker who gets into the ball a lot. Then you hope that he can hold the ball and there are people walking around him.
“But two or three times we didn’t anticipate it properly. Weghorst brings a certain aggressiveness and he is strong with crosses.”